


TikTok on the Clock

by quindelynn



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3RACHA are best friends, 3RACHA is a thing but stray kids are not, Hyunjin is also a famous TikTok user, Lee Know is a famous TikTok user, M/M, Oops, Whirlwind Romance, briefly mentions vomit but nothing explicit, hyunminseung are best friends, i unironically love tiktok so this is me projecting, minimal knowledge of planes and conventions and concerts, minsung meet on a plane, slow burn? idk her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23869756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quindelynn/pseuds/quindelynn
Summary: If there was one thing that the media had gotten correct, it was that Jisung unironically loved TikTok. Unfortunately for him, despite living in a world where everyone and their mom was whipped for J.one (AKA the youngest member of 3RACHA), Minho, a choreographer on the explosively popular app known as TikTok, has no idea he exists.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin
Comments: 38
Kudos: 279





	TikTok on the Clock

**One week before the concert.**

If there was one thing that the media had gotten correct, it was that Jisung unironically loved TikTok. When it came to who he was when he wasn’t fully embodying _J.One of 3RACHA_ , Twitter had lots of theories, some false and some true. For example, his fans were absolutely right that he loved cuddling with his members and that he was a lyrical genius who definitely deserved to be the most famous member of 3RACHA. On the other hand, they were definitely wrong when they imagined that he and Changbin were an item; they had tried that before debut and quickly realized they were better off just friends.

But their theories about Jisung’s love for TikTok were definitely true. His addiction was an unexpected surprise and shone through his J.One persona more than he had ever originally intended. When he convinced their company to let him open a public account for their group, the conversation had been quick and painless, mostly due to the fact that their manager knew just how stubborn Jisung could be when he got an idea in his head.

 _“Our group is two years old this year,_ ” he had argued to their manager, _“We won’t lose our fans if we show a little more of our real selves outside of the music.”_

And not to toot his own horn, but he’d been absolutely right. 3RACHA had been lucky with their debut; netizens had quickly adopted them from the beginning, appreciating the fact that the three members, Jisung, Changbin, and Chan, wrote and performed their own music. They may have been an idol group, but they were also known as artists for their talents outside of the hard work they put into their dance practice room. 

However, what really allowed their popularity to take off within the two years of their debut was the fact that their social media presence was unapologetically _them_. After a year of pretending otherwise, Chan had finally been allowed to reveal his personal Twitter account. 3RACHA had been trending for a week when all of the Twitter stans realized the extent to which Chan was willing to interact. And that had been only the beginning; the other members were quick to open their own Twitters, and Jisung was set loose on TikTok, resulting in their fanbase growing faster than ever before.

They were idols who performed and artists who wrote their own music, but most of all, they were _real_.

For the most part.

What their fans correctly suspected but couldn’t prove was that Jisung had a private TikTok account. He had giggled to himself when he typed in his username, _j.onerulez_ , but there was nothing funny about the amount of time he spent on the app now. What had started with him just posting on their public account occasionally had turned into half a dozen posts every week and hours spent on his private account watching dance trends and funny videos. Needless to say, he was addicted.

Which wasn’t usually a problem, until he was once again gushing over his favorite content creator on the app when he should’ve been writing lyrics.

“How can anyone this perfect even exist? I mean, besides me, of course.”

Changbin just rolled his eyes in response to Jisung’s statement, not bothering to look up from the notes app on his phone where he was actually trying to do his job. Chan, on the other hand, hadn’t even heard his statement, too focused on the music playing through his headphones from his production setup on the laptop in front of him.

“Would you just shut up about this Lee Know guy? We get it, you think his thighs are hot,” Changbin said, tapping away at his phone. “Now would you focus? We’ve got to prepare two more songs before we leave for the tour.”

Jisung almost vibrated in his seat at the reminder, a smile creeping onto his face. At the end of this week, 3RACHA would be boarding a flight to the U.S. to promote their first full length album. However, their manager had asked them to finish this song first so that they could release it as a single right before the tour kicked off. So Jisung sighed wistfully and eyed the sharp moves of the TikTok user known as Lee Know one last time before closing the app sadly, putting thoughts of his favorite TikToker out of his mind. 

For now.

* * *

**One week before the concert.**

Elsewhere in the same city, inside a small dance studio practice room, a certain choreographer sneezed.

Hyunjin looked up at Minho in alarm. “Hyung, you can’t get sick. We leave for the convention in two days and we already told our followers we’d be there.”

Minho only waved his hand dismissively in response. “Don’t worry Hyunjin, my nose was just itchy for a sec. We can get back to practicing,” he said, continuing to stretch his arms, the way he had been before his violent sneeze. Hyunjin just peered up at him suspiciously from the ground where he was doing his own stretches before shrugging and moving on.

The two of them, better known to the world as _LeeKnow98_ and _spearbs_jinnie_ , were kind of a big deal. That is, if being moderately famous on TikTok could be considered being a “big deal.” Hyunjin, a junior at the local university, had downloaded the app on a whim one night, only to wake up one morning a month later to find his account had blown up overnight after users realized that he was talented on top of being hot. It certainly helped that his covers of the current dance trends were not only executed well, but not cringey in the slightest (unlike most guys on the app who knew they were attractive).

It was only a matter of time before he annoyed his friends into downloading TikTok, too. Within a few weeks of living with his newfound fame, Hyunjin had begged Minho and Seungmin to make accounts so that he could send them all of the hilarious videos he found and feel less alone on the viral app. Seungmin had quickly abandoned it in favor of maintaining his photography Instagram account, but Minho had found that the app was actually great for advertising his choreography skills. Seeing as he had only graduated from university in the past year and was just starting out at his dance company, he knew he could definitely use the extra income that came when his account also grew quickly, with the help of Hyunjin’s loyal followers and his own skills.

It was only a matter of time before Minho’s unique blend of dance videos, funny filters, and countless cat vlogs earned him millions of followers who loved him and his content. And it was due to these followers that he and Hyunjin would soon be attending a convention in the U.S, one designed for TikTok creators such as himself.

Despite the calm atmosphere he exuded, he was actually extremely excited to meet some of his fans and other choreographers. Which was why he wanted to make sure that he and Hyunjin had plenty of content lined up for their followers, starting with the collab piece that they were currently attempting to choreograph. 

Hyunjin jumped up from the ground, bouncing around of the balls of his feet and grinning in that way that made his female followers spam the comments with heart emojis. “All right, let’s do this!” he said, clapping his hands excitedly. 

Minho smirked back before turning to the mirror with an intense, focused look, one that would probably make his own followers squeal. He glanced at Hyunjin out of the corner of his eye and innocently asked, “How about we make this one extra sexy? Give everyone something to look forward to this weekend?”

Hyunjin only smirked in response.

* * *

**Two days before the concert.**

“Jisung. Jisung. J.one. Hey. Hey! Han Jisung!” Changbin’s last sentence was accompanied by a pointed poke at Jisung’s cheek with his finger. Said rapper looked up in surprise, blinking a few times before he focused on his groupmate in front of him. On his phone, the latest video from _LeeKnow98_ and _spearbs_jinnie_ continued to play, the choreography looping every thirty seconds and repeating the numerous body rolls and hip thrusts again and again. “You good man? You’ve been watching the same video for like fifteen minutes.”

Jisung just slumped in his seat on the studio’s couch next to Changbin and held his phone up to the other rapper defeatedly. “Dude, just watch this. He knows exactly what he’s doing. This man that I have never met woke up today and decided that today is the day he is going to kill me.” Jisung groaned, putting his face in his hands as Changbin watched the video, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Chan chose that moment to walk into the room, blonde hair shoved under a 3RACHA beanie that matched the one Jisung wore. Jisung glanced up at his leader from between his fingers as Changbin exclaimed, “Oh, I like this one! Not that the last one you showed us was bad or anything, but this one’s sexier- ohhhhhh,” he cut himself off, looking at Jisung with a pitying look on his face. Chan wandered up to the two of them and Changbin handed him the phone without a word. The oldest silently watched the video, only handing Jisung back his phone after he’d watched it twice. 

Jisung took it without a word, only nodding in response when Chan asked, “Is this the reason you haven’t been responding to my messages about calling our manager about the reception to our latest single?” The blonde patted Jisung on the head with a look similar to the one Changbin had made just moments before.

Jisung swatted his hand away, pouting. He jumped to his feet, slightly startling his groupmates. “Listen! I’m fine! It’s fine! I definitely wanted to spend the day distracted by thoughts of only the hottest dancer ever. Absolutely, yup,” he said confidently, crossing his arms. Chan just laughed in response while Changbin rolled his eyes. Jisung grinned at the two. Cockily, with the air of someone who definitely hadn’t been drooling over a stranger’s smooth moves for an entire morning, said, “So are we gonna make that phone call before I die of old age or what?”

Changbin rolled his eyes again. “Not if you die watching a certain TikTok dancer first. We all know you have a thing for muscular men,” he teased, flexing his undeniably muscular arms. 

Jisung made a face and smacked Changbin on said muscular arm, making the older rapper yelp. “Yeah, you wish. Maybe if you could dance as well as Lee Know we could’ve worked out,” he joked, patting Changbin condescendingly on the arm he had just hit, causing Changbin to scrunch up his face and Chan to snicker.

“Whatever,” Changbin said, struggling for a few seconds to come up with a witty response before giving up, “but just make that phone call so we can pack.” When he saw Chan’s face, he said, “Don’t look at me like that Chan, we’re not all you, packing days before a flight like a responsible adult.”

Chan simply looked from Changbin to Jisung, who only shrugged and made a _guilty-as-charged_ look, smiling apologetically. 

“Seriously guys?” he said, in disbelief. “We literally leave for the U.S. _tomorrow_ and you’re telling me that you haven’t even started packing?” When he got no response from the two rappers, he just sighed and ran his hand over his face. “Of course! Of course I would be stuck with the only two guys who would pack the _night before_ their first world tour.” He just shook his head and sighed again when Jisung and Changbin merely grinned in response. “Whatever. Who am I to tell you how to dress. If you two,” he said, poking a finger first at Changbin’s chest, still sitting on the couch, then Jisung’s, “wanna look like hobos on the plane, then who am I to stop you.” 

This started a new round of bickering as Changbin and Jisung immediately began pointing out that Chan shouldn’t come after them for fashion choices when his closet consisted solely of black articles of clothing. 

This went on for about thirty seconds before Changbin grew bored and pulled out his phone to open Instagram, swiping lazily through a photography account he’d been interested in for the last few weeks. Chan followed suit, pulling out his phone so he and Jisung could call their manager together. Within a few minutes, they’d been informed that their new single, the one they’d just finished earlier that week and released yesterday so they could promote it while on tour, was being received very well. According to their new manager, this was partly due to the traction it had gained when Jisung posted a snippet of it on their public 3RACHA TikTok page. 

Jisung smiled proudly, even though he knew the manager couldn’t see his face through the phone, and Chan patted him on the back with an answering smile.

Once they’d hung up, the two were quick to open their own phones. Chan swiped through Twitter and while Jisung opened TikTok yet again, trying to pass the time until they’d need to leave the studio for the night to get enough rest before their flight the next morning. 

It was during this time, while the three were quietly existing together, squished together on their studio’s couch, that Jisung received a notification that LeeKnow98 had posted a new video. He clicked the notification with reflexes that would’ve impressed his middle school gym teachers and was watching the new video within seconds.

Unlike the video that had been posted this morning, which was a collaborative dance with _spearbs_jinnie_ , or the one that had been posted the night before, which had featured one of Lee Know’s three cats, this one was a solo dance.

It took approximately 0.3 seconds for Jisung to realize that the voice Lee Know was matching his movements to was his own.

Before he’d even consciously recognized his own rapping, he’d thrown his phone across the room, a strangled noise escaping his throat that he would deny making until he died.

Changbin and Chan’s heads shot up, with Changbin being the first to speak. 

“What the hell, dude?” he asked. Jisung just looked at him with his mouth hanging open before getting up from where he was sitting to go retrieve his phone. 

“It’s our song,” he replied, voice full of shock. Chan and Changbin just looked at him quizzically, although Changbin’s face made it clear his curiosity was more because he thought Jisung was a dumbass.

“What is?” asked Changbin, finally getting tired of waiting for further explanation when it was clear that Jisung was still in shock and wouldn’t be offering anything without prompting.

Jisung looked up from his screen that he’d been watching over and over, the twenty second clip repeating the way TikTok videos do. He turned up the volume on his phone until his voice rang out throughout the room and handed his group mates the phone. Within seconds, they’d seen what had surprised him so much that their resident loudmouth had been struck silent.

Lee Know, Jisung’s favorite TikTok creator and dancer-extraordinaire, had choreographed a dance to their latest song. 

Within seconds, Changbin was laughing and Chan was handing Jisung his phone back. “Dude, that’s great! Now you can’t even blame the fact that you’re too chicken to dm him on the fact that he doesn’t know you exist!” Changbin teased. 

“Haha, very funny,” Jisung retorted, instinctively responding to being teased before the full meaning of Changbin’s words sinking in. “Holy shit, he knows I exist!” 

Within seconds Jisung had crumbled back down onto the couch, burying his head in his hands and curling his body as small as possible between his two friends. Chan put his arm around Jisung’s shoulder and pulled him into his side in an attempt to comfort him, which would’ve been a whole lot more comforting if he hadn’t been laughing along with Changbin at the situation.

“This is good! Maybe now you can build up the courage to interact with your online crush,” Chan said once he calmed down. His voice still contained hints of laughter, but it was more encouraging now. At this, Jisung just shook his head.

Also significantly more calm at this point, Jisung took a closer look at the TikTok video. Only twenty seconds long, the dance Lee Know had come up with synched up perfectly with the snippet of their newly released song that Jisung himself had uploaded onto their 3RACHA account only yesterday. 

He knew that their song had been making the rounds on the app, being used in various videos by fans and non-fans alike, since their manager had told him as much only a few minutes before. What he hadn’t considered, not even for a split second, was that if their song gained traction on TikTok, then it was only a matter of time before Lee Know, a popular TikTok creator, would hear it. 

And he didn’t just hear it, he’d created the best dance Jisung had ever seen in his entire life. Maybe it was his bias talking, but seeing the dancer whose videos he’d been obsessed with for the past few months interpret his song and move along to his voice just hit differently, better, than any dance he’d ever seen with his own two eyes.

However, after he was able to drag his eyes away from the captivating sight of Lee Know, the caption grabbed his attention.

**@LeeKnow98**

happy birthday to one of my best friends **@spearbs_jinnie**! here’s a little something I whipped up because I know you love this hot sauce group :) **#HappyBirthday #3RACHA #DidISpellThatRight? #fyp**

In a split second, Jisung came crashing down from his high. With a pout, he pointed the caption out to his friends, saying, “I knew it was too good to be true.”

The two of them read the caption while he explained, “He made the choreography for his friend Hyunjin, another dancer on the app who’s a pretty big fan of us.”

“Oooh,” Changbin said, reading the caption with a smile. He boasted, “His friend’s a Spearb fan. Guess he has taste,” earning himself two simulateneous slaps, one from Jisung on the thigh and one from Chan on the bit of his shoulder that he could reach from around Jisung. “Ow!”

“Well, he still listened to our song. How do you know he’s not also a fan?” Chan asked, always one to look for a silver lining. Jisung, who had started reading through the comments, exited back to the video and clicked on the link to _spearbs_jinnie_ ’s account. 

“I don’t know for a fact, but I’d be willing to bet, seeing as he wasn’t even sure he spelled our name right. See this guy?” Jisung said, showing them Hyunjin’s account. “He posts dances to our songs all the time and duets a decent amount of our 3RACHA TikToks, but I’ve never seen Lee Know ever mention us even once, which means he knows of our existence but has never bothered to actually acknowledge it,” Jisung said sadly, still scrolling through Hyunjin’s many posts.

All of a sudden, Changbin reached out and stopped his scrolling, saying, “Hey, wait a minute.” He clicked on a video featuring three people lip syncing to a funny TikTok sound. One of them was Hyunjin, of course, while another was Lee Know, which made sense since they were friends outside of the app and often danced together. The other person, a young man who appeared to be the same age as Hyunjin, was someone Jisung had only ever seen a couple times on their accounts.

“What?” Jisung asked, annoyed that his scrolling as a coping mechanism against the disappointment was interrupted. Changbin just pointed to the third man in the video.

“I know him,” he said simply. Jisung and Chan both looked at him in surprise. He looked back and shrugged, although there might’ve been the hint of a blush on his face. “I like his photography account on Instagram.” As if he felt the need to prove himself, he picked up his own phone that had been neglected in the mayhem and showed them what he had been looking at before Jisung practically threw his phone across the room.

Sure enough, it was the photography account on Instagram that Changbin had been following for a while, with the third young man from the video pictured in the profile picture and occasionally throughout the photos. His profile informed them that his name was Kim Seungmin, he was a junior at the local university, and he was an accounting major.

But that wasn’t what Jisung found the most interesting. His eyes were instantly drawn to a photo that featured the same three young men from the TikTok they had just watched: Hyunjin, Lee Know, and this guy, Seungmin.

Jisung was on Changbin in a second. “You knew one of his friends on Instagram? Why didn’t you tell me?” he said, shoving his face in Changbin’s and earning himself a hand to said face, pushing him away.

“Hey, man, I didn’t realize, okay? I only discovered the page myself a couple weeks ago, and I don’t know Lee Know’s face as well as yours,” he said, defending his honor. “I just like the pretty pictures,” he finished lamely, shrinking when he saw Jisung’s narrowed eyes.

“Oh,” Jisung said, now donning a sarcastically innocent look, “but you recognized Seungmin, huh?” Changbin just scowled and looked away, but his blush gave him away.

“Shut up,” he said. “You’ve got your online crush that will never go anywhere, and I’ve got mine.”

Jisung just laughed and knocked his shoulder against Changbin’s. 

“Sure, but what are the chances that we chose two best friends?” he asked, pointing to yet another photo of the three young men, with a caption that claimed exactly that. It also informed them that Hyunjin and Seungmin, who appeared to be the same age as Jisung, were also roommates in college. It wasn’t necessarily important information, but Jisung was only too happy to learn anything connected to Lee Know.

Changbin laughed back, saying, “I guess the chances were pretty good,” which caused the three of them to crack up, ceasing only once their abs started to hurt from overuse. 

Chan was the first to wipe the tears that had started to gather in his eyes, and still chuckling, said, “Jisung, why don’t you take this opportunity to respond?”

Changbin was quick to follow up, excitedly adding, “Yeah! Shoot your shot!” He then wiggled his eyebrows, saying, “Then maybe you can introduce me to his friend,” earning him his third slap on the arm that day.

Chan rolled his eyes. “No, I wouldn’t do that. We’re literally about to go on tour. I meant in a professional capacity.” At this, Jisung deflated a bit. He knew Chan was right. They might be more genuine than many idol groups, but they were still idols. He couldn’t just slide into the dm’s of a famous TikToker and risk being exposed as gay on top of attempting to date, despite the fact that their contract contained no dating clause.

Then Chan continued, “But you could film a response video. Couldn’t you do a cover of the dance? And then, like, tag him or something?” When Jisung and Changbin proceeded to stare at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, he said, “What? I have good ideas sometimes. Don’t act so surprised.”

Changbin, begrudgingly, admitted, “Sometimes I forget that just because Twitter is your bread and butter, that doesn’t mean you don’t know anything about other social media.” He patted Chan on the shoulder from around where Jisung sat between them on the couch. “Of course you’re due to have a good idea eventually.”

Chan’s proud look fell as Changbin finished his statement, eventually settling on indignation. But he was unable to smack Changbin for the fourth time that day when Jisung threw his arms around his neck, saying, “You’re a genius, hyung!”

Jisung then jumped up and scampered out of the room, searching for an empty room in their company building to quickly learn Lee Know’s choreo so he could record it and go home before their early flight the next morning.

* * *

**One day before the concert.**

Minho awoke to the sound of screaming.

It took a few seconds for the adrenaline to leave his body once he realized that it was just Hyunjin, acting in that way he did whenever 3RACHA did something cute or hot or absolutely normal on social media.

“-ng! Minho-hyung!” yelled Hyunjin, bursting into the living room where Minho lay disoriented on the couch. He didn’t even attempt to slow down before he took a flying leap and landed on top of his friend, forcing an oomph from somewhere deep in Minho’s chest. 

Seungmin emerged from his room down the hall, rubbing his eyes sleepily and running his hands through his bedhead, which was particularly floofy at three-thirty in the morning.

“What the actual fuck, Hyunjin?” Seungmin groused, squinting at the two of them piled on the couch. Minho, although he said nothing, shared the sentiment. _What the fuck?_ He was disoriented enough as it was, which was understandable considering he had woken up on his friends’ couch instead of in his own bed. It had seemed like such a good idea last night when he and Sungmin and Hyunjin had decided it would be easier for him to just sleep over at the two college students’ apartment the night before their flight so they could go to the airport together.

He was regretting that decision now, with a certain Hwang Hyunjin making unintelligible noises against his chest and a grumpy Kim Seungmin bumbling about the kitchen, no doubt refusing to deal with his loud roommate until he had consumed at least one cup of coffee.

Minho, on the other hand, had no such luck. 

“Hyung, you have got to look at this,” Hyunjin rambled, shoving his phone into Minho’s hands. Minho struggled to comprehend what he was watching, trying to juggle both the phone opened to the TikTok app in one hand and the twenty-one year old boy in his lap.

He forced his eyes to focus on the video in front of him. From what he could tell, it featured a young man wearing a bucket hat, face mask, and plain sweatshirt, nothing to help him stand out. Nothing, except for the fact that he was performing Minho’s latest TikTok dance.

Once he realized this, he instantly grew more interested. His choreographer brain kicked in, and he watched several times to analyze the movements and attempt to notice mistakes. Overall, he was decently impressed. It was nowhere near as clean as the original, but it was better than most of the covers he was sure to see once he logged into his own account later.

He looked up at Hyunjin and attempted to hand him back his phone. “He’s good,” he said simply. Hyunjin just groaned and pushed the phone back towards his face.

“No, look, hyung,” he said earnestly, pointing to the username and caption. So Minho looked, and then he understood, face whipping back up to meet Hyunjin’s happy eyes.

“Congrats, Hyunjinnie! I’m happy for you,” he said, smiling. And he meant it. He may have hated being woken up twenty whole minutes before he needed to be up, but he could recognize when his friend was genuinely just really excited, and Minho was happy for him. Afterall, the caption of the TikTok read:

 **@3RACHA** ☑️

hey everyone, thanks for showing our new single, Broken Compass, so much love! (dance creds to **@LeeKnow98** ) (happy belated birthday **@spearbs_jinnie** ❤️)  
**#3RACHA #BrokenCompass #NoMakeup #fyp**

Holy shit. No wonder Hyunjin was losing his mind. His favorite group had singled him out to say happy birthday sometime late last night.

Hyunjin smothered Minho with the tightest hug he’d ever felt in his life, mumbling into his shirt something that sounded like, “Thank you, Minho-hyung, I’ll literally never be able to repay you for that dance you made, oh my god.” 

Minho just smiled and patted his hair, letting Hyunjin bask in the glow of being directly recognized by his idols. They sat like that for only a minute or so before Seungmin wandered back into the living room with a steaming mug of coffee, socked feet dragging slightly less on the floor than they had only five minutes before.

“So,” he said, taking a sip from his mug, “what’d I miss?”

Minho braced himself for the tornado that was Hyunjin and finally stood up from the couch. They had a long day ahead and this was only the beginning. The rest of the morning went by much smoother; with Hyunjin walking on air, Seungmin and Minho couldn’t help but caught up in his good mood despite their early start. They were dressed in comfortable clothes and on their way to the airport by 4:30 AM, and due to Seungmin’s tendency to keep track of even the tiniest details, they arrived and made it through security and into their seats with no hassle. 

Even the fact that Minho’s seat was separated from Hyunjin and Seungmin by an aisle couldn’t dampen his good mood. After all, he was on his way to meet the fans that meant so much to him, he was with his best friends, and now he could nap the entire flight without making Hyunjin sad because he’s ignoring him.

His good mood lasted all the way through take-off and seven hours into their fifteen hour flight. Unfortunately for Minho, who had been fast asleep for the last several hours, that was when the man next to him had decided that now was the perfect time to get extremely sick right next to him.

Thankfully, nothing had actually ended up on him or any of his belongings, all of which were carefully stowed away in the overhead compartment or under his seat, but Minho’s good mood couldn’t have been more thoroughly ruined. 

All he could do was hold his breath and attempt to ignore the horrid smell while Hyunjin and Seungmin looked at him pityingly. Hyunjin mouthed the words, _You okay?_ He could only nod in response. What else could he do? The man had already apologized, and Minho wasn’t the kind of horrible person who would fault someone just for getting sick, even if he could’ve lived without the man’s breath blowing in his face every time he apologized.

In the end, he only had to suffer in his seat for about seven minutes, at which point a flight attendant hurried up to them, and in a calm voice asked if the two of them would prefer to be seated elsewhere. She explained that there were two seats up front in first class that hadn’t been filled when their original occupants had failed to arrive at the airport that morning. 

Minho had only grinned at Hyunjin and Seungmin, the first of which stared at him with wide, jealous eyes, and the latter of which just narrowed his eyes and shook his head, unbelieving of Minho’s luck even in a less than ideal situation. He couldn’t help himself from sticking out his tongue just the tiniest bit at his friends as he and his former seatmate followed the flight attendant, who was now his favorite person in the world, forward through the aisle.

With one last apologetic glance, the poor man who had lost his breakfast next to Minho was seated and Minho was left following the flight attendant alone. Had he mentioned that she was his new favorite person?

She finally stopped walking almost all of the way towards the front of the plane and gestured to one of the large seats. He thanked her with a smile and turned to look at his new seat buddy.

The young man was wearing a beanie and had red Beats hung around his neck, but what struck Minho the most (besides the fact that he was far cuter than his last seatmate) was that his eyes were wide and trained on Minho in disbelief. Minho would have found the way his cheeks looked when his mouth hung open cute if he wasn’t a little freaked out by the fact that the young man looked like he’d seen a ghost.

However wary Minho was, though, he wasn’t willing to give up his free upgrade, not even if he had to sit next to some weirdo for the next eight hours. He sat down gingerly, trying not to spook the boy. It was only once he was fully seated, bags carefully stowed away and the seat belt safely fastened, that he finally made direct eye contact and said, “Hi. You okay there?”

As if he was a character in a cheesy cartoon, the stranger shut his mouth and blinked as if finally realizing what he’d been doing. And as soon as he did, his cheeks flushed so red Minho thought he might burst into flames.

Minho only raised his eyebrows and smirked a bit as the stranger rambled out an explanation, saying, “Fuck, yeah, totally. I’m fine. I mean, I’m great. I mean I-shit. God, sorry, I swear I’m usually better with words. It’s just,” and at this point the cute stranger seemed to gather himself and regain some semblance of normalcy, saying, “I’m a huge fan.”

The smile he flashed when he said that was significantly less flustered, and a great deal more confident. The toothy grin made Minho’s heart skip a beat in a way that it hadn’t since he’d been twelve and had a crush on his dance instructor. It was boyish, in a way that told him this boy knew exactly what his smile could do to people. 

Of course, Minho took this as a challenge.

In a second, he was flashing his own dazzling smile, the kind that he recorded in his TikToks when he wanted to make his followers incapable of typing coherent sentences in the comments. And since this boy claimed to be a fan, that meant that he was likely one such follower.

Sure enough, the boyish grin faltered just the tiniest amount, and the blush, which had lessened a tad in the past few seconds, returned full force.

“Oh, yeah? Well, I’m flattered. You’re the first one I’ve actually met in person,” Minho said, deciding to finally take pity on the boy. He was cute, and Minho would prefer it if he could feel more comfortable around him. He told himself it was because he was a fan and he wanted to be nice. Yeah. That was it.

The boy’s eyes, which Minho almost couldn’t look away from, turned quizzical. 

“Really? You have so many followers, how could you not have run into any?” he asked, forgetting about any past awkwardness in his curiosity.

Minho just shrugged. “I think a lot of my followers are from different countries. It’s one of the reasons I’m flying to the U.S. right now with my friends. We’re attending a TikTok convention in New York,” he explained. If he ignored the fact that this stranger was really cute, he was actually feeling really grateful for the opportunity to interact with a fan in his own language, and maybe find out how he came across to complete strangers.

The boy made a face of recognition, and nodded in understanding. “That makes sense,” he said. He looked like he was about to say more, but then thought better of it. “Is the friend you’re here with spearbs_jinnie?” he asked instead. 

Minho blinked, unable to decide if he was impressed or a little freaked out. He decided he was impressed, because how could anything this cutie did be weird? So he nodded.

“Yeah, I’m flying with Hyunjin- spearbs_jinnie, I mean, and our friend, his roommate, Seungmin,” Minho said. The stranger nodded again.

“The photographer, right?” he asked. At this point, Minho couldn’t stop himself from furrowing his brows and giving the stranger a funny look. The look seemed to bring him to his senses and the boy’s eyes widened for the second time since he’d sat down and he opened his mouth to defend himself. “Oh my god, I swear I’m not a weirdo, it’s just that one of my roommates really likes his account and showed it to me once and I recognized you in the photos!” 

At this point, the boy buried his face in his hands and groaned. He looked up through his fingers and said, “Please, I swear I’m not a freaky stalker or anything. I just really like TikTok and you’re, like, my favorite creator on it.”

Minho couldn’t have stopped the proud, kind of bashful smile, even if he had wanted to. He laughed quietly and waved his hand in a way that showed he took no offense. “Am I really your favorite?” he asked, unable to stop the teasing tone from entering his voice.

The stranger just removed his face fully from his hands and nodded. He seemed to have resolved himself to the embarrassment. 

“Yup,” he said, matter of fact. “I think your dancing is amazing, and I love your cats.”

At that, Minho’s small smile grew into a grin. Anyone who liked his cats had earned his approval. He decided then and there that they wouldn’t be strangers for long, and used the moment to introduce himself, saying, “I’m Minho.”

The boy looked taken aback for a split second before a matching grin split his face, the most genuine one he’d seen yet.

“I’m Jisung.”

It only takes about fifteen minutes of chit-chatting and trying to discuss adult things that don’t involve TikTok for them to give in and turn to the topic of the app that they shared a love for. It only took two minutes past that for them to figure out they had a very similar taste in content and that their For You pages were eerily similar, despite being curated specifically for them. 

Once they made this realization, it only took an additional forty-five seconds for Minho to ask Jisung if they could exchange TikTok handles and become mutual followers. 

“We can send each other TikToks,” he explained, trying to act nonchalant, despite the fact that he was feeling like a nervous fifteen year old asking for someone’s number for the first time. The feeling only went away once Jisung nodded, happy to agree.

Minho watched as Jisung typed in his username, searching himself up using the plane’s in-flight wifi. He cocked his head a bit when he noticed exactly what it said. 

“J.onerulez? Isn’t that one of the members of 3RACHA?” he asked, focused more on the account itself, but momentarily distracted by the familiar stage name. He didn’t think much of his statement, which is why he was surprised when Jisung’s head flew up, almost smacking him in the face from where he’d been slightly leaned over to see the screen.

“You know 3RACHA?” he asked, seeming very invested in the answer. 

Minho just shrugged. “Kind of, I guess? Hyunjin, my friend, he loves them a lot. So I’ve heard a lot of their music, since Hyunjin’s been playing it nonstop since they debuted.”

Jisung bit his lip. He looked like he wanted to ask more, but decided against it. He focused back on the phone, trying to act like he had moved on from the conversation topic, but his fingers were still over the screen.

“Oh!” Minho exclaimed, startling Jisung, who had tensed up since the topic of 3RACHA was brought up. “Hyunjin was actually mentioned by that member on their last video, the one in your username? It was his birthday and the guy literally made his year when he did a cover of my dance that I choreographed for their new single. Broken Compass, I think? It’s pretty good.” 

Minho found himself rambling a bit. Despite knowing that Jisung was already a fan, Minho couldn’t help but want to impress him. He wasn’t sure why that would encourage him to brag about his friend being acknowledged by this idol that Hyunjin and Jisung both liked, but it was too late to take it back.

Luckily, Jisung didn’t seem too surprised. It occurred to Minho then that Jisung probably followed 3RACHA on TikTok. If he was a fan of them and also a regular on the app, then he had almost certainly already seen the video and knew all about the birthday shoutout. Not only that, but a fan of 3RACHA would have, at the very least, already heard the new song.

Minho wanted to face palm, and then we wanted to be on the ground again so he could be swallowed up by a bottomless pit.

He didn’t have time to be embarrassed for long though, because Jisung chose that moment to hand him back his phone with a smile. He looked really happy for some reason. Minho decided then and there that, however embarrassed he might’ve been, it was worth it if it made Jisung smile like that.

* * *

**One day before the concert.**

Jisung was on cloud nine. Not only was he literally flying above the clouds, but Minho liked their new song. 

At this point, Jisung was sure that Minho hadn’t recognized him. He guessed that Minho must not have connected him to the video he’d posted with his face fully covered last night. When he’d put the mask on the night before, he’d only thought about the fact that he hadn’t been wearing makeup. It hadn’t occurred to him that the whole reason he’d posted the video was so that Minho would notice him.

Well, it had worked. But Minho still didn’t recognize him, because Jisung’s dumb ass had played himself.

In the end, Jisung decided that he preferred it this way. Minho and him were having a real, genuine conversation, and it wasn’t due to the fact that Jisung was an idol. In Minho’s eyes, Jisung was just a fan. And, if the flirtatious smiles Minho sent his way were any indicator, a cute fan.

The thought that Minho, the object of Jisung’s admiration for the past few months, might be even a tiny bit interested in Jisung, not J.one, made him want to start blushing and never stop.

Still, despite the way he’d stumbled through their first interaction, Jisung was a confident guy. He was determined to show Minho that he was capable of conversing like a normal human being.

Luckily for him, it was surprisingly easy to talk to Minho. All it took was Minho showing Jisung the app on his phone that he used to get all of the hilarious and cute filters he uploaded to his TikTok for the ice to be thoroughly broken. Jisung would take videos of his face with a squirrel filter every day if it meant he could see Minho laugh like that forever.

Their conversation jumped easily from topic to topic, eventually winding back to how Jisung had become a fan of Minho’s account.

“I don’t really know,” he shrugged. “I guess I just downloaded TikTok, and then one day you showed up on my For You page and that was it.”

“And your roommate? You said he follows Seungminnie on Instagram?”

Jisung nodded. “Yeah, but I swear that was a total coincidence,” Jisung said. “We actually only noticed yesterday when he recognized your friend Seungmin in one of spearbs_jinnie’s TikToks.”

Minho accepted the explanation. “So are you interested in dancing?” he asked suddenly. For some reason, he felt like Jisung would be a decent dancer. If he had given the feeling any more thought, he would’ve wondered why he thought that; that maybe he’d seen him dancing somewhere before, but it didn’t occur to him to question the instinct.

“Yeah, a bit,” Jisung responded. “I mean, not nearly as much as you obviously. It’s more of a hobby. I’m more into producing side of things.” Minho looked at him in interest, so he continued, “That’s my job actually. I’m a producer at a music company.”

He was feeling pretty good about his careful avoidance of the full truth, until Minho asked, “Oh, really? What company?”

Yeah, Jisung was an idiot. “Uh, JYP?”

Minho gave him an impressed look. “Isn’t that, like, the company that 3RACHA works for?”

Jisung just nodded weakly, sure he was about to get caught up in the tangle of his own words any minute now.

“That’s super neat! Does that mean you’ve met them? And you’re a fan, right?” 

If it hadn’t looked really weird, Jisung would’ve breathed a huge sigh of relief. It seemed like Minho was willing to accept his explanations without suspicion, which was good, because Jisung really wanted to be able to talk to him as a normal person for as long as possible.

He nodded. Happy that he’d managed to sidestep a potential disaster, he was quick to change the subject. 

“So what do you do? I know you’re a choreographer at some studio, but how does that work exactly?” he asked. Once he’d started asking the question, he realized he was genuinely curious about the answer. There was just something about Minho that made him want to know all about his life.

“Well, yeah. I’m a choreographer at this little studio in Seoul. We provide lessons for dancers of any skill level, and we’re available for hire, choreographing for idol groups and stuff like that,” Minho explained. Jisung loved the way his eyes lit up when he spoke about his life passion. It was one of the reasons he’d been unable to stop watching his videos on TikTok. His love for dance was contagious.

“That’s really neat. Does Hyunjin work with you?” he asked. For some reason, he felt happy when Minho shook his head no. 

“Ah, no, Hyunjinnie is still in university. He’s majoring in dance, like I did, but he’s only a junior right now.”

“Oh!” Jisung exclaimed. “Then he’s the same age as me!”

“Are you in university?” Minho asked, curious, but Jisung just shook his head.

“Nah. I realized really young that I wanted to make music, so I just kind of focused on that early on. I’m really lucky that I’ve been given the chances that I have at JYP.” At this point, Jisung found himself genuinely expressing his feelings for the opportunities he’d been given. Sure, it had been up to him to make the most of them, but his talents would never have grown the way they had without Chan or Changbin.

Minho seemed to sense the sincerity in his voice and smiled in a way that made Jisung feel understood in a way that was rare. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be seen as anything other than a celebrity. He was grateful everyday for his fans, and he knew he was lucky that 3RACHA was generally able to show the public their true selves, but there was something different about being seen for himself by someone like Minho.

It was then that he decided to stop kidding himself and admit that his crush on Minho was legitimate. Now that they’d had the opportunity to actually talk in person for an hour or so, he was willing to admit that his admiration of the dancer from afar had now evolved into something with more substance.

It was this realization that led to Jisung blurting out, “So are you and Hyunjin, like, together?”

Great. Just great. Jisung could’ve smacked himself in the face. So much for not being awkward anymore

Luckily, Minho just laughed. In fact, he laughed so hard his eyes started tearing up and Jisung started shifting in his seat uncomfortably, preparing himself for rejection.

Eventually, Minho wiped his eyes and, still giggling a bit, said, “Oh my god, no. Hyunjin and I have been best friends since college, he’s like a little brother to me.” He started chuckling again, seemingly tickled silly by the thought of dating Hyunjin. “He may be the cuddliest person on the entire planet, but he’s also incredibly straight.”

Jisung’s mouth opened in a silent, _ahh_. Minho finally pulled himself together, taking a few more deep breaths. He chose this moment to peer knowingly at Jisung, smirking a bit. “Why do you want to know?”

Jisung bristled a bit. He may be an idiot, but he wasn’t stupid. He could tell when his not-so-subtle advances had been found out. So he did what he did best; he joked.

“Oh, just wondering if he was single so I could ask him out,” Jisung said matter-of-factly. Minho laughed.

“Oh he’s single all right,” said Minho, playing along now. “And you know who else is single?” he asked, leaning on Jisung’s armrest and moving his face towards Jisung in a conspiratory manner. Jisung raised an eyebrow, also leaning in as Minho continued in a lowered voice, saying softly in his ear, “Seungmin.”

Jisung burst out laughing, whacking Minho on the arm and causing the older man to lean away in mock hurt, clutching his arm as he tried and failed to pout while laughing himself.

“Well, in that case,” Jisung said, still snickering a bit, “My roommate Changbin, the one who follows him on Instagram? He’s single and gay as fuck.”

“So we’re match-making now?” Minho asked. Jisung just shrugged noncommittally, smiling innocently. “Okay then. If we’re setting our friends up, I know someone who might be interested in getting your number,” said Minho, still smiling at Jisung, although he looked a bit more serious now.

Jisung made a noise in his throat that could’ve been a _‘yeah?’_ or a _‘you’re so hot.’_

“Yeah,” continued Minho, still making intense eye contact with the not-so-stranger sitting next to him. “Me.”

And that was that.

Jisung, ever the generous benefactor, was quick to grant Minho’s request. Once numbers had been exchanged and a mutual attraction established, the hours seemed to fly by. Before the two knew it, they were thirty minutes from arriving in New York.

However, despite the fact that their destination grew closer and closer with every second, Jisung didn’t feel as though their time was running out. After all, he had learned that both him and Minho lived in Seoul, and although Minho was in New York for a TikTok convention, he’d have some free time on his hands that he’d be willing to spend with Jisung as long as he was brave enough to ask.

In fact, their time together was going so well that Jisung thought absolutely nothing could throw a wrench in their blossoming friendship (and maybe something more).

That is, until Minho said, “Hey, I was planning on filming a montage of all the fans I meet during the convention for my TikTok account, would you maybe wanna be in it?”

No doubt expecting his simple request to be accepted with another one of the easy smiles that Jisung had been so forthcoming with during the last few hours, he looked unsurprisingly confused when Jisung blurted out a panicked, “No!”

Seeing the uncertainty on Minho’s face brought Jisung back to his senses. “It’s just, because of my company? I can’t be seen online?” He knew his stammered response was choppy at best and completely unbelievable at worst, and he cursed the fact that he could freestyle rap with no problem but seemed incapable of getting through a few sentences when faced with Minho’s disappointed face.

Yet again, Minho just accepted his explanation with seemingly no suspicion. Jisung felt guilty for his less-than truth when Minho said, “Yeah, I get it. No problem,” in the most understanding voice that Jisung didn’t feel he deserved.

For a split second, he thought about telling Minho the truth then and there. What could go wrong? If he had his way and met up with Minho later on, both in New York and in Seoul, then he’d find out about his identity anyway.

But Jisung selfishly wanted Minho to get to know Jisung before J.one could steal the spotlight. So he stayed quiet and let the moment pass as the pilot announced that they were going to begin their descent.

Once the plane was back on the ground, Jisung started preparing to disembark. He placed a face mask over his recognizable features and plopped a bucket hat on top of his newly dyed blonde hair. Not that doing so would lessen his fans’ ability to recognize him; he was just hoping he could put some distance between him and Minho before the fans gave away his identity.

Before he knew it, he and Minho were holding their bags and waiting for a gap to open up in the flow of people walking through the aisle. As they stood up, still standing in front of their seats in an effort to lengthen the last of their first moments together, they locked eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time in the last eight hours. 

This didn’t have to be the end, but it could be. If either one of them chose not to interact after they left the plane, then this would be it. 

Jisung, however, was determined to make this only the beginning. So he smiled his signature boyish grin once last time, and said, “I’ll text you?” 

He’d meant for it to come out a bit more confident and less like a question, but the short, slightly insecure-sounding sentence still seemed to do the trick, because Minho smiled back and said, “Not if I text you first.”

They grinned at each other one last time, and then they were off the plane. Jisung made sure to disappear into the crowd before Minho could associate the screams and countless camera flashes with him, and then he was gone.

Once he and the other members of 3RACHA had reunited and were safely in a car headed to the hotel where they would be staying for the next few days, Changbin and Chan made sure to utilize the time to needle Jisung for questions when he couldn’t escape them.

Chan, generally the more level-headed of the two, started with, “So that was your TikTok crush right?” only to be immediately interrupted by Changbin blurting out, “Did you get his number?”

Jisung just smirked in response.

“Of course. Who can resist all of _this_?” he said cockily, gesturing to his own chest. His confident statement was immediately made fun of when Chan immediately pointed at Changbin, who had simultaneously pointed at himself.

Jisung made a sound suspiciously close to an indignant squawk, making all three of them burst out in laughter so sudden and loud that their manager jumped in his seat in the front seat of the car.

Once they’d calmed down, Jisung remembered something that Minho had mentioned on the plane and turned excitedly to Changbin. 

“Hey, hyung! While I was talking with Minho-hyung, he mentioned that his friend Seungmin is single and into guys.”

Changbin’s voice came out smooth when he responded, “Oh, really?” but his red ears gave him away. So Jisung just grinned and grabbed onto one of his ears, tugging at it gently.

“Yeah. And he’s roommates with _spearbs_jinnie_ on TikTok. I bet if you covered the same dance I did a couple days ago, Hyunjin will force him to watch the video over and over again since he’s such a huge fan.”

Changbin said nothing, just rubbed his ear where Jisung had grabbed it, so Jisung dropped the subject.

If there was a new post on 3RACHA’s TikTok only two hours later, posted by Spearb with the help of a certain J.one, then that was no one’s business but their own.

* * *

**One day before the concert.**

Through the power of time differences, despite the fact that Minho, Hyunjin, and Seungmin had left at the ass crack of dawn from Seoul, they still had the entire day to explore New York before the convention the next day.

So of course the first thing they did was check into their hotel and take a nap.

And for the second time that day, Minho awoke to the sound of screaming.

Just like he had that morning, before his nap and their fifteen hour flight from Seoul, Minho was given little warning before waking up to a lapful of Hyunjin. _‘At least this time he was in an actual bed,’_ he thought, mentally preparing himself for whatever it was that had excited Hyunjin to this extent.

He was actually really curious as to what it could be. Minho had only ever seen Hyunjin this excited once in his entire time knowing him, and it had been this morning when Hyunjin had been recognized by his absolute favorite music group in the world. That probably hadn’t happened again.

“3RACHA mentioned me in another TikTok video!” Hyunjin exclaimed, shoving his phone into Minho’s hands, his smile wide enough to blind any lesser man.

Or maybe it had.

 **@3RACHA** ☑️

wassup everybody? spearb here to take a crack at the new dance trend to our song! thanks for the awesome dance **@LeeKnow98** and happy late birthday to **@spearbs_jinnie** ❤️! Check your dm’s for a present!  
**#3RACHA #BrokenCompass #fyp**

Minho could only look at the video in astonishment. There it was. A short video of another member of 3RACHA covering the dance that he had uploaded himself only a few days ago. Sure, it had gained traction within the app, with thousands of everyday people trying their hand at the dance moves, but he never would have thought that it would gain the attention of the song’s creators so quickly.

Hyunjin shook Minho’s shoulders, no doubt looking for a verbal reaction beyond the jaw-dropped look of astonishment Minho had given him.

“Hyunjin, that’s great! I’m so happy for you!” he said, excited beyond belief that his friend has been given yet another shout-out by his favorite group. However, he was confused by the caption that the idol had included. He asked, “What does he mean check your dm’s?”

Hyunjin’s grin stretched impossibly wider. “He direct messaged me. Did you know that 3RACHA is currently in New York for their three week U.S. tour? Their first concert is tomorrow night.”

Minho shook his head. He hadn’t known that. It occurred to him then that maybe that was why Jisung had flown to New York. If he worked for JYP, the same company as 3RACHA, then maybe he was a part of the concert’s production crew.

“Well, Spearb _himself_ messaged me asking if I’d be interested in three extra tickets to their concert,” Hyunjin said, visibly getting more and more excited, until he was practically bouncing up and down on the bed by the end of his sentence. “He said they knew you and I were in town, because of the convention! Isn’t this absolutely insane? I think I’m gonna puke. Oh my god, I’m gonna puke,” and with that, Hyunjin ran into the bathroom on wobbly legs.

Minho only had a second to wonder where Seungmin was in the midst of all this when he heard an indignant _hey!_ come from the bathroom that Hyunjin had just barged into.

Seungmin was probably regretting agreeing to help Hyunjin convince Minho to share a room now.

Minho smiled to himself, getting out of bed leisurely to the sound of Hyunjin’s excited chattering and Seungmin’s muffled protests. By the time his two friends had exited the bathroom, Hyunjin jittering with excitement and Seungmin glowering the way he did when he was pretending to be annoyed, Minho was mostly dressed.

Once he was fully decked out in his favorite pair of sweatpants, perfect for a day of lounging around the city before the convention tomorrow, he sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up his phone.

With Hyunjin’s constant chattering about 3RACHA acting as white noise in the background, no doubt forcing Seungmin to rewatch his beloved Spearb’s video over and over again, his train of thought was quickly led to a certain producer who worked for the same company. He had just unlocked his phone, intending to send said producer a message, when his phone vibrated to indicate an incoming message.

Minho couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face when he saw whose name it was appearing in his notification banner and the subsequent eye roll when he read what it was that they’d sent.

 **Jisungie**  
Hey good lookin

Two could play at that game.

 **Minho**  
hey hot stuff

 **Jisungie**  
are you free this afternoon by any chance?

 **Minho**  
miss me already?

Minho had a split second to wonder if that was too forward before his phone pinged with Jisung’s response.

 **Jisungie**  
ofc 😔 it’s already been five whole hours since I last saw you

 **Jisungie**  
so are you free 😗

 **Minho**  
idk i’m kind booked this afternoon

 **Jisungie**  
oh really? 😥

 **Minho**  
yeah I’ve got a hot date i’d like to meet for lunch

 **Jisungie**  
oh really? 😏

 **Minho**  
nevermind he uses cringey emojis

 **Jisung**  
😧

Minho enjoyed two more minutes of freedom messaging Jisung before Hyunjin flopped onto the mattress next to him. Seungmin, always the more mature of the two, tossed his phone onto the other bed in the room for safe-keeping before jumping up and landing purposefully on the mattress in a way that almost knocked Minho off from the force of the bounce, merely grinning at the older dancer when he shot him a dirty look.

Hyunjin distracted him from his plans for revenge, hooking his chin over Minho’s right shoulder in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the phone in Minho’s hand. Minho barely had time to turn the screen over on his thigh before Seungmin was in a matching position on his left shoulder.

“What are you doing Minho-hyung?” Hyunjin asked in a voice that any stranger would have mistaken for genuine innocence and curiosity.

“Yeah, Minho-hyung. What’s got you so smiley?” Seungmin asked, his voice dripping with overexaggerated innocence that, unlike Hyunjin’s, wouldn’t have fooled anyone.

So Minho just turned his phone back over, revealing the screen with his messages to Jisung still revealed. Hyunjin took only enough time to read the contact name and the latest message, which simply read, _‘sure I’d love to grab lunch,’_ before he was shaking Minho by the shoulder and grinning ear to ear.

“Hyung that’s great! So you’re actually serious about Mr. Plane Guy?”

Minho nodded, expression softening. “Yeah. I don’t know, it was just so easy to talk to him, even though he was a fan. It was like he wasn’t even phased by the fact that I could be considered moderately famous, like he was just interested in me.”

Hyunjin practically squealed, while Seungmin sighed wistfully, saying, “That sounds so romantic.” 

Hyunjin butt in, saying, “I don’t know, there must be something wrong with him. The only people this perfect in real life are 3RACHA.”

“Don’t worry, Seungminnie,” Minho said, ignoring Hyunjin completely and patting his friend reassuringly on the shoulder. “I’m sure there’s someone out there who’ll fall into your trap and never find the way out.” His words earned him a _haha so funny_ look, but the three were quickly distracted by the task of finding Minho the perfect outfit to wear out on the city.

Minho had a date soon and sweatpants were not going to cut it.

Soon enough, he found himself chilling in a random cafe that had been recommended by Google, legs crossed in a pair of black jeans that made his thighs look amazing while simultaneously being surprisingly comfortable. Topped with a simple white shirt and jean jacket, he knew he looked good.

Obviously, Jisung thought the same thing, because Minho was made aware of his date’s presence when he heard him say, “Oh wow.”

Minho looked up from his phone to see Jisung standing behind the chair across from him, looking absolutely scrumptious in simple skinny jeans and a soft-looking sweater. Minho assumed his face was equally delightful, but he couldn’t be sure, since the younger man’s face was once again covered with a face mask and bucket hat.

Minho smiled. “Wow yourself.”

The words caused Jisung to smile, visible to the world only due to the adorable way his eyes crinkled above the mask. Just like on the plane, they fell into conversation quickly and easily. Even once they had their food in front of them, they struggled to actually eat their meals in a timely manner, because they were so caught up in the seemingly endless conversation topics being discussed.

The conversation flowed so well that it didn’t even occur to Minho to wonder why Jisung seemed so opposed to being exposed. He was only grateful that the young man seemed to relax within a few minutes of taking off his mask to eat his sandwich, so enthralled by the conversation he didn’t seem to remember he was supposed to be on edge.

They talked about everything and nothing, learning about each other’s hobbies and interests and lives. It was no wonder that they eventually came around to a topic they had discussed briefly on the plane; each other’s friends.

It was clear that Minho and Jisung both really loved and cherished their friends, and although they would die of embarrassment before admitting it out loud, their actions spoke for them.

Which was why Minho found himself telling Jisung for the second time how happy he was that a dance he created for Hyunjin for his birthday had ended up being so much more.

“I really am just so happy for him. I’ve never seen him so excited. And now he’s even got tickets to see them live? No birthday present in the future will ever compare,” Minho said, gesturing with his hands in the way that he did when he got really into whatever he was saying. 

Jisung, still sitting across from him with his now empty plate of food, was content to watch him talk. Minho wasn’t stupid, though, and he zeroed in on the way Jisung’s smile seemed to be...almost proud?

He trailed off, narrowing his eyes at Jisung, who only looked innocently back.

“You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you?” he asked, squinting across the table at the producer. Jisung just peered innocently back at him. “I mean, you do work for the same company, is it such a crazy thing to ask?” It occurred to Minho then that while he knew Jisung worked for JYP in production, he didn’t know why he was in New York. He’d thought briefly earlier that maybe he was working with 3RACHA on their tour, but he hadn’t connected the dots that maybe Jisung had had a hand in Hyunjin’s second round of good fortune. “Are you working the concert?”

Jisung’s mouth fell open a little bit as Minho watched him process the questions. Eventually, he just sighed and gave Minho a wry smile, choosing to answer only the last one. “Yeah. You could say that.”

“So are you the reason Spearb messaged Hyunjin about those tickets?” Minho pressed, leaning towards Jisung slightly. He could almost smell the truth, and he was eager to know if his deductions were correct.

Jisung just sighed. “Okay, so maybe I poked around a bit to see if there were extra tickets….” he said shyly.

Minho could tell he was slightly nervous; maybe he thought Minho would think he was overstepping his bounds. However, Minho didn’t let him think that for long, because Jisung barely had time to even look surprised before Minho was standing up and fully hugging Jisung over the table. 

He pulled away after a couple seconds, sitting back down across from the frozen young producer. “Thank you. What you’ve done for Hyunjin….I appreciate it more than you know.”

Jisung’s ears flushed red, and the two looked at each other for a few seconds, surprisingly comfortable in the sudden deep turn the conversation had taken. Jisung opened his mouth to say something, when there was a sudden flash from across the cafe that startled the both of them.

Jisung’s face darted to the source of the bright light, but just as Minho was about to look closer at the random girl, Jisung sprang to his feet and tugged Minho after him. Minho could only watch as he let himself be dragged by Jisung out the door after the younger man had thrown a wad of cash onto the table.

“What are you…. was that girl taking photos of us?” he asked, stupefied by the idea and Jisung’s reaction to it. Jisung said nothing, just kept pulling Minho along until they were a block away from the cafe. 

That’s when he seemed to realize that he was still holding Minho’s wrist, and he dropped it with a quick blush. “Ah, sorry hyung. That girl um, I’m sure she was just trying to get a photo of, of you! She must be one of your TikTok fans!” Jisung rambled, avoiding eye contact and wringing his hands together until Minho reached out to stop him, holding them still with his own hands, intertwining their fingers.

Jisung looked down at their joined hands and then up at the choreographer. Minho smiled gently, trying to convey how he felt to the nervous-looking producer.

“Jisung, it’s okay. You can’t be photographed for the same reason you couldn’t be in my TikTok montage, right? I understand.”

Minho could visibly see some of the tension leave Jisung’s shoulders. He watched the emotions flicker quickly across Jisung’s face: surprise, endearment….guilt?

“Yeah. I- thanks for understanding,” he said. The two of them stood for a couple more seconds. Minho was hyper aware of the way Jisung’s hands fit into his; it felt nice. Then, before the moment had a chance to become awkward, he adjusted his grip so that he held Jisung’s right hand in his left.

Then they were walking down the street, only this time they were strolling at a normal pace. Within a few moments, they found themselves at the outskirts of a park. Minho had heard of Central Park, seen pictures of it online, but nothing could have prepared him for how large it would actually be in person.

He wanted to go in.

Minho and Jisung shared a look and headed towards a path without even saying a word. It seemed like even when they weren’t talking, they were on the same wavelength.

Within a few minutes, they couldn’t even see the city behind them anymore. They could still hear it, but they were surrounded by green trees and beautiful paths and other people enjoying the park. 

“This is amazing,” Jisung said, in obvious awe at the patch of nature stubbornly thriving in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world.

“Like you,” Minho said, his joking tone covering up the fact that he meant every word. Jisung laughed and held his hand a little tighter. Minho then sighed, gazing around at the picturesque beauty all around them. “Seungmin really needs to see this. He could take such amazing photos here.”

“Is Seungmin a professional photographer? I’ve seen his Instagram; he’s really good” Jisung asked curiously.

“No,” Minho said, a displeased tone coloring voice. “He should be though. He loves it more than anything, and he’s talented. But his parents insist that he graduate with an accounting degree, even though he pays for his own schooling.”

Jisung frowned, sad understanding flashing across his face.

“I know how that feels,” he said. “My parents gave me an ultimatum; if I hadn’t gotten into JYP when I did, then I would’ve had to go back to school for them.” Then he pulled Minho to a stop in the center of the wide path. “What if he could prove to his parents that he could make a successful living as a photographer?” he asked, obviously to hide the extent to which he was excited.

“I mean, yeah. His parents are reasonable enough. If Seungmin could somehow miraculously find a way to show them that he could make money doing what he loves before graduating, then they would understand. They love him and just want him to be successful,” Minho explained. He still wasn’t feeling very optimistic. “The problem is that they’ve seen how talented he is, but they still won’t change their minds.”

That’s when Jisung tugged on his arm, as if that would help Minho understand quicker. 

“No!” he said, “I mean like, what if Seungmin actually made some money off of his photos?”

“I guess?” Minho said, still clearly confused. He stood there, a confused tilt to his head as he watched Jisung pull his phone out of his pocket and start typing furiously. Within a few seconds, he received a response from whoever he was messaging, and the two shared a quick exchange.

Then Jisung was putting his phone back in his pocket, grinning victoriously at Minho in a way that made his heart stutter. 

“What did you do?” he asked. Jisung just shook his head.

“I don’t want to say anything in case it falls through,” he responded. “But I hope everything works out for Seungmin. If he’s friends with you then he must be an amazing person.”

Minho blushed, looking down at where Jisung had reached out to grab his hand again. “We’ve only just met,” Minho said, protesting weakly. But he squeezed Jisung’s hand tighter to let him know that he thought Jisung was amazing, too.

They continued their walk. They’d started eating a little after twelve and stayed at the cafe for about two hours. Normally it would be hot around that time, seeing as it was almost summer, but the past week had been mercifully cool. The spring weather seemed to be holding on a bit longer than usual, as if holding out for Minho and Jisung’s walk that day.

Just as it had at the cafe, the conversation flowed easily. Their shared love for music, dance, friends, and more, was an easy springboard for their personalities to bounce off of. Minho found it easy to tease the younger man, and he loved that Jisung felt comfortable enough to tease him right back.

“Hey, Jisung,” Minho said at one point, “Would you be interested in going to the convention tomorrow?”

Jisung’s face rose quickly and then fell just as fast. “I can’t,” he said. “I have to prepare for the 3RACHA concert. That’s kind of the whole reason I’m here.”

“That’s okay,” Minho reassured him. 

He had thought he’d covered up his disappointment well enough, but Jisung was quick to add on, “But I really want to!” Jisung smiled mischievously in the way he did when he was about to tell Minho a cheesy pick-up line (which had happened surprisingly often considering they had only met however many hours earlier that day). “Maybe I can drop by and you could sneak away from all of your fans?”

Minho snorted. “Sure,” he agreed. Then he pulled Jisung to a stop, the way Jisung had however many minutes earlier. “I’d love that,” he said seriously.

Jisung blushed, then grinned. “Then I’ll stop by. Around noon? Maybe we can grab lunch again?”

Minho had opened his mouth to agree when his phone started ringing in his pocket and simultaneously pinging with the sound of several incoming text messages. He looked down at his pocket with furrowed brows.

“You should check that,” Jisung said. For some reason, he seemed excited for Minho to see who it was exactly that was interrupting their date. So Minho pulled his phone out and brought it to his ear, swiping to accept the call. Caller ID informed him that Seungmin was the one calling him, while Hyunjin was the sender of the half dozen new messages waiting for him.

“Seungminnie?” he said. “Is everything okay?” He pulled the phone away from his ear when his earbuds were immediately accosted by the sound of Hyunjin screaming for the third time that day.

“Hyunjin? Seungmin? What’s happening?” he asked again, getting a little worried now. He glanced over at Jisung, but Jisung was looking even more excited now, even though he was trying and failing to appear nonchalant.

“Minho!” yelled Hyunjin. “Minho-hyung! You’re never gonna believe-” and then his voice cut off, followed by the telltale _umph_ and thud of a body hitting the floor.

“Minho, ignore him,” said Seungmin. “He’s right though; you’re never gonna believe what happened.”

Minho could feel the shock grow on his face as he listened to Seungmin explain what happened. By the time Seungmin had finished telling his story, Minho was sure his mouth was open wide enough for strangers passing by to become overly acquainted with the inside of his mouth. 

He was so focused on the words coming from the phone that he didn’t notice the way Jisung was practically vibrating with excitement. After a few minutes, he congratulated Seungmin and hung up the phone after they exchanged goodbyes.

“That was Seungmin,” he said to Jisung, still shell-shocked from the amazing news one of his best friends had just received. “He said that CB97 from 3RACHA had inquired into whether or not he would be interested in coming in as a photographer for their concert tomorrow. I guess they’ve been needing one and the band likes his work.”

Minho almost couldn’t believe the words, even as he was saying them. His mind was racing; if Seungmin took this job, then he could gain more recognition in the professional photography sphere and then maybe his parents would be willing to let him switch majors- wait a minute.

Minho finally focused on the shit-eating grin that had spread across Jisung’s face.

“Did you-?” he asked. “Is this because of you?”

Jisung shrugged, trying to act suave, despite the fact that he was obviously pretty proud of himself. “I might have mentioned to Spearb that the managers had never gotten around to hiring a photographer after the one original one got sick, and I might have reminded him that he and the members have been following Seungmin’s instagram for awhile, and maybe I pointed out that he already had a ticket to the concert, because he’s friends with Hyunjin….” Jisung trailed off. He’d started off proud, but stopped at the end when he saw that Minho’s face had remained blank throughout his talking.

“But,” he continued quickly, “it’s not just because you guys are friends! The group really has been a fan of Seungmin’s for awhile, they wouldn’t have hired him if they didn’t think he was talented-”

Minho cut him off with the second bone crushing hug in two hours. Jisung reached slowly up in shock, wrapping his arms around Minho’s torso lightly while Minho attempted to squeeze the life out of him.

“Thank you,” said Minho, pressing his face into Jisung’s neck. “You’re- I don’t know what to say.” He leaned back, arms still wrapped around Jisung’s neck, but putting space between their chests so he could convey his gratitude to Jisung face-to-face. “We only met today and you’ve already done so much for me and my friends.”

Jisung attempted to hide the blush on his cheeks with his now-signature boyish grin. 

“I just think you’re really cool, and I’m so happy I got to meet you and that I can do stuff for you to show you that.”

Minho raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so I’m cool, huh?” he teased.

Jisung removed one of his hands from Minho’s waist so that he could lightly smack him on the chest. Minho feigned being hurt, and the two of them burst out laughing.

After a few seconds, Jisung grew serious again. He gripped his hands tighter where they still rested on Minho’s waist.

“I really like you, Minho-hyung,” he said. Minho opened his mouth, intending to reciprocate the feelings, but Jisung cut him off. “I have to tell you something first, though, before we can be anything.” Then Jisung paused, as if trying to gather his thoughts.

Minho tilted his head. He wanted to ask what Jisung could have to tell him that was so serious, but he figured he should let the young producer tell him on his own time. They had only met that day, but after spending over ten hours together, he felt that there was nothing Jisung could say that would make him not want to pursue a relationship when they both returned to Seoul.

“I’m not just a producer for JYP. I’m-”

He was cut off by loud screeching off to the side. Minho and Jisung’s heads both spun towards the noise. Like deja vu, Minho only had time to see a couple girls pointing in their direction for a split second before Jisung was grabbing him by the wrist for the second time that day and they were running.

It had taken them around half an hour to get to their final destination in the park, but it took them much less time to find themselves back on the streets of New York City, out of breath and giggling helplessly to themselves. 

“What was it you were gonna tell me?” he asked, struggling to get the words out despite his dancer’s stamina. 

Jisung was leaned over, hands on his knees as he struggled to take in air after their run through the woods. Minho was transfixed by the way his blond hair swished when he shook his head in response to Minho’s question. He couldn’t look away from the several strands that got caught in the thin layer of sweat on Jisung’s forehead.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow. It’ll be a surprise,” Jisung said.

“At the convention?” Minho asked.

Jisung shook his head again. “Are you going to the concert tomorrow night?”

Minho nodded.

“I’ll tell you at the concert,” Jisung said. “And on that note, I should probably get going. There are a few last things we have to prepare before the first stop tomorrow, like finalizing a contract with a certain photographer,” he teased.

Minho just rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay. I get it, you’re a busy man. Can I walk you back to your hotel at least?”

The smile that split Jisung’s face was so bright that it made Minho feel like he was looking directly at the sun, if the sun was a twenty-one year old boy who was quickly worming his way into Minho’s heart.

“Sure.”

* * *

**One day before the concert.**

The speed with which Jisung burst back into his hotel room was enough to draw both Chan and Changbin’s attention away from their phones.

“Woah there,” said Changbin, inspecting Jisung from where he was lounging on one of the beds. Jisung knew he probably looked like a fool, leaning against the door and unable to stop smiling. “What’s got you so happy? You look like a twelve year old who just found out their playground crush likes them back.”

Chan reached over from where he was seated in one of the hotel’s chairs and smacked Changbin on the shoulder. He jerked his head at Jisung, emphasizing his unspoken words with his eyes. Changbin looked from Chan back to Jisung, then back to Chan, making a ‘ah’ sort of face as realization struck.

“It’s no big deal or anything,” Jisung said nonchalantly, walking forward to sit on the empty bed next to the one where Changbin was laid out. “I just found my soulmate is all.” He grinned as Changbin and Chan froze for a second, bracing himself for their reaction.

And there it was.

Changbin pounced, jumping to the other bed and tackling Jisung. Jisung laughed as he was smothered by his friend, attempting to squirm away to avoid having his hair ruined by Changbin’s attempts to rub his head in teasing congratulations.

“Get off me!” he laughed, pushing at Changbin’s chest weakly.

“Awww, does the little baby of the group have a crush?” Changbin teased, but his he said it so that it sounded like, _‘does the wittle baby of the gwoup haf a cwush?’_ causing Jisung to push him away a bit more seriously.

“Shut up! And no, it’s not a crush,” Jisung said.Changbin finally sat up, Jisung following suit. “I like him. No crush about it.”

Changbin and Chan both exchanged glances and then looked back at Jisung, proud and happy for him. Unfortunately, it was Chan who finally had to be the responsible one.

“Just be careful, Jisung,” he said. Changbin nodded. They had amazing fans, and Jisung knew that most of them wouldn’t cancel him for being gay. However, he knew that, even though 3RACHA didn’t have a dating ban, the idol industry would still disapprove of him entering a public relationship. If he and Minho did decide to meet up back in Seoul and pursue something beyond this whirlwind romance in the States, they would have to do so covertly.

“I know, hyung,” Jisung said. “I’ll talk to Minho-hyung.” Jisung rubbed his head, looking down at the bed sheepishly and then back up at his best friends. “Actually, I, um, kind of still have to tell him I’m in 3RACHA. So there’s that, too.”

Chan and Changbin gaped at him, before Changbin burst out laughing. Jisung grinned, only a little embarrassed, but knowing that his friends would simply see this as yet another silly action by their resident goofball.

“Oh yeah,” Jisung said to Chan, changing the topic, “I really appreciated that you hired Seungmin. It meant a lot to Minho, so it means a lot to me.”

Chan just waved his hand dismissively. “Of course, man. We had already discussed maybe hiring a photographer for the road, and Changbin vouched for Seungmin’s skills, so it was easy to convince the manager to hire him.”

“Still,” Jisung insisted, “I really appreciated it.” He looked back and forth between his two hyungs. “I love you guys. I’m glad it’s you I get to perform and make music with.”

Changbin took that as an invitation to re-tackle Jisung to the bed to let him know that he and Chan felt the same way through a series of loving noogies to his head.

They eventually had to get up and do some last minute preparations for their concert the next day. Chan worked with the manager to get Seungmin’s contact info and let him know the schedule, since he would need to arrive earlier than regular concert-goers. Changbin also worked with the manager to arrange for Hyunjin to receive his tickets. They decided that it would be easier to have Seungmin and Hyunjin arrive together and be met by one of the concert personnel, which meant that Minho would also be arriving early.

Jisung wanted to offer to show them around backstage, but he was starting to get a picture in his mind of how he wanted to reveal his identity to Minho and being seen in his stage outfit before he was actually on stage would ruin it. So he let Chan and Changbin offer instead.

He nudged Changbin teasingly when the older rapper told the manager that he would be happy to show Seungmin and Hyunjin where they would be during the concert. 

“I’m sure you would,” he whispered.

“Shut up,” Changbin whispered back.

Once they had finished giving their poor manager an ulcer from nerves, they bid each other good night. Chan went to share a room with the manager, and Changbin and Jisung annoyed each other from their opposite beds until it got late and they finally slept.

When Jisung woke up the next day, he ignored the feelings of fatigue. The plane ride, plus the fact that he was nervous for today and didn’t sleep as well as he usually did before concert nights, had put a damper on his mood initially.

Then Changbin tripped on his way to the bathroom and ended up sprawled out in his robe on the ground swearing, and Jisung suddenly felt better.

He was excited; he and Minho had agreed to get lunch sometime during Minho’s convention. He knew he probably shouldn’t be taking the risk; he had already been spotted twice on their date yesterday., Still, he couldn’t help himself. Minho was irresistible. Besides, if they decided to make things official, then they wouldn’t be able to show as much affection in public once they returned to Korea and resumed their professional lives.

They were lucky they were men, so they could still go out to eat and no one would be likely to suspect the truth, but he wanted to take advantage of the ability to hold Minho’s hand in public while he still could.

So off he went. 3RACHA had spent the morning at the venue, making sure the set-up was correct and everything was in its place for them to give the best show they could. They still had to do a quick run-through of all of their songs and do sound-check, but Jisung had already decided he would sneak out around noon and be back in time to do all those things before their concert started at eight.

He was jittery. Jisung could tell he had more energy than usual, but it wasn’t as noticeable as it might have been if Chan and Changbin hadn’t also been more hyped up than usual due to the concert fast approaching.

It was almost too easy to slip out the backdoor when lunchtime rolled around. The amount of people bustling about both inside the venue and outside on the streets made it simple to sneak out and then blend in. Chan and Changbin had agreed to cover for him, but they reminded him that he had less than an hour to get his ass back for their run-through, so he hurried down the street.

He and Minho had been texting on and off all morning. He knew the older was busy with his convention, as he had been raving about how amazing his fans were and how happy he was to meet them, and Jisung had been busy, too, with his preparations. Still, they had found time to decide to meet just after twelve in one of the back rooms provided by the convention for the creators.

Jisung checked his phone to pull up the directions Minho had sent him on how to find the entrance to the back hallways not open to the public. He entered the convention, glad that it was free (as long as you didn’t want to take a picture or buy merch or food or do anything actually fun), and made his way through the crowds of people.

He was lucky; his tried-and-true bucket hat and mask disguise seemed to be working better than it usually did. It must’ve been related to the fact that the room was so crowded and so full of other famous influencers; no one would expect an actual idol to appear so far out of his element.

Jisung made it to the entrance to the hallway that Minho had indicated with no trouble. Besides dealing with the massive crowd inside the large building, it had actually been fairly simple to maneuver his way to the back.

He texted Minho that he was there and then tried to stand as un-awkwardly as possible, as if he belonged and didn’t deserve a second glance. Minho didn’t leave him waiting long.

“Jisung!”

Jisung’s head snapped up. Minho was walking out from down the hallway, waving and smiling his small cute smile that Jisung was already head over heels for. Jisung was so caught up in grinning back that he didn’t almost didn’t notice the tall man walking two steps behind Minho.

His heart stopped for a moment. If it was Hyunjin, then he would definitely be recognized. God, he hadn’t thought this plan through enough. 

He let out a sigh of relief as he realized it was Seungmin, the smile that had dropped from his face returning in an instant. The two young men reached him and waved at the security guard to let him through. 

“Hey Jisung,” said Minho. He looked amazing. Jisung almost couldn’t believe that someone as talented and beautiful as Minho was giving him the time of day. Those black jeans? That scrumptious-looking brown hair styled to show his flawless forehead? That shirt? It was a decidedly normal looking t-shirt, but Jisung had decided he’d never seen anything more stylish in his life.

“Hey,” Jisung responded. He finally dragged his eyes off Minho and gave Seungmin a curious glance. So this tall, gangly boy was the one Changbin was so enamored with. He guessed he could see why; Seungmin was cute, in a boy-next-door kind of way. 

“I’m Seungmin,” said Seungmin. “If I waited for Minho to introduce me, we’d be standing here all day.” He poked Minho in the arm.

Oh yeah. Changbin was gonna love this guy.

“I’m Jisung.” Jisung grinned.

Minho rolled his eyes and swatted at Seungmin’s hand. “C’mon, we already ordered some food from some fast food place, we were waiting for you to eat.”

Jisung followed the two as they led the way back down the hallway, past the security guard and into one of the only doors that were left open. Jisung spent the entirety of the one minute walk stressing over whether or not Hyunjin would be there. If he was, then he was screwed.

Luckily, just as they walked into the room where their food was waiting for them, Seungmin’s phone buzzed.

“Hyunjin said he ate his food and went back to the convention. Something about wanting to work out a potential collab with some dancer named Felix from Australia,” he said, reading the message. Jisung couldn’t believe his luck.

“Sorry Jisung, I guess you won’t get to meet Hyunjin just yet,” Minho said apologetically.

Jisung shook his head, maybe a bit too quickly. “That’s okay!” he reassured the dancer. “I’ll just see him later tonight at the concert anyway.”

He was patting himself on the back for successfully avoiding having his identity revealed before he could do it himself and simultaneously making Minho feel better, but he wanted to kick himself when Seungmin started looking at him funny.

“That’s right,” he said, dawning realization in his voice. “You work as a producer at JYP right?” 

Jisung nodded, sweating.

“And you’re working the 3RACHA concert tonight?”

Jisung nodded again. If the knowing looks Seungmin was giving him were any indication, he might still be in trouble.

Minho seemed to sense Jisung’s discomfort. Misinterpreting it for Jisung being uncomfortable with the questions, Minho chose that moment to intervene. 

“Yeah, he’s the one who got Spearb to hook Hyunjin up with our tickets and CB97 to hook _you_ up with the photography gig, remember?” Minho said this all in a regular conversational tone, but his eyes were clearly telling Seungmin to back off.

Jisung honestly found it kind of hot.

Seungmin just held up his hands in surrender, smiling slightly. “Yeah, I just wanted to hear about it from the horse’s mouth. It must be amazing working with all of these talented people,” he said. Despite the fact that he was appeasing Minho, he also sounded incredibly sincere. As long as Seungmin didn’t blow his cover, Jisung decided he liked the other man. “We’re super grateful for the opportunities you’ve given us. It really means a lot.”

Jisung smiled, about to say something like, _Yeah no problem,_ when Seungmin continued.

“Honestly, at this point, Hyunjin and I might be almost as happy to have met you as Minho has been. After all, he’s been talking about you almost to the extent that Hyunjin won’t shut up about 3RACHA.”

Jisung watched Seungmin look more and more pleased with himself while Minho got redder and redder. Cute.

“Whatever,” Minho said. “I’m going to the bathroom. Don’t,” he said, pointing at Seungmin, “tell him anything embarrassing about me. Only I can do that.” Seungmin just smiled deviously. He’d obviously be making no promises. Minho just rolled his eyes again and walked out of the room with one last backward smile at Jisung.

Jisung was still looking at where Minho had just left the room when Seungmin turned to him abruptly and said, “I know who you are.”

Jisung didn’t try to play dumb. He could tell he’d need all the time he could get while the two were alone for him to convince the other young man to keep his secret. 

“Dude, please don’t tell Minho,” he pleaded. 

Seungmin peered at Jisung, eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you want him to know? What kind of game are you playing?”

Jisung quickly threw his hands up. “No game! I really like Minho. If he’s interested, I’d really like to keep seeing him when we return home,” he said. He quickly forgot he was originally trying to convince Seungmin not to rat him out, saying timidly, “Do you think he’d be into that? It seemed like he would be, but you know him better than I do, so do you think-”

Seungmin cut him off. “Okay, just shut up. Yes, he’d love to see you more once we all get back to Seoul. I was just worried that you weren’t taking this seriously, but I can tell now that you’re just as hooked as Minho-hyung is.” He eyed Jisung almost pityingly, making the rapper blush.

He then continued, “But you have to tell him who you fucking are, you dumbass. He won’t care, as long as you actually tell him.”

Jisung nodded his head really quickly. “Yeah, of course! I’m planning on telling him tonight.” Jisung grinned, his devious smile mirroring the one Seungmin had given Minho only a couple minutes earlier. “I was gonna surprise him at the concert.”

Seungmin made an _ah_ sort of face, the face of someone who had finally connected the dots and tied all of the loose strings into a beautiful little bow. He then smiled deviously back at Jisung.

“Oh man, that’ll be good. I love a good prank, especially when it’s at Minho-hyung’s expense.” Seungmin was really getting giddy now, imagining the situation. “Oh my god, I can’t wait to see his face, he’ll be so surprised. He’s no dummy, but I can only imagine how much he’s going to beat himself up for ignoring all of the obvious hints.”

Jisung pouted. “I don’t think it was that obvious? I think I hid it pretty well.”

Seungmin gave him a pointed look, like _really?_ Jisung sighed. “Okay, so maybe not. Which is why,” he continued, “I can’t risk seeing any of you before the show tonight. Chan and Changbin-hyung are going to be the ones showing you guys around backstage.” At Seungmin’s confused look, he said, “CB97 and Spearb.”

“Hyunjin will love that,” Seungmin said. “Okay, so fine. I’ll be keeping your secret so that I can see Minho-hyung’s face when you surprise him. But you have to promise not to break his heart.” Seungmin said that last part more seriously than he’d said anything up to that point. Jisung hadn’t known the photographer had it in him to sound so intimidating.

But Jisung just smiled. “I would never,” he said, and he meant every word.

Jisung’s good luck continued to hold, because Minho chose that moment to walk back into the room, glancing between the two of them to see if they were both still alive.

Jisung and Seungmin both smiled innocently at him. Jisung thought he might’ve seen Minho shiver, but he guessed his eyes were playing tricks on him when Minho just sat down and began digging into what was left of his sandwich. 

“Anyway,” Seungmin said, drawing the attention of both Jisung and Minho, “as I was saying, I was just really glad that I happened to pack my extra camera lenses.”

“Yeah,” Jisung responded. He might occasionally find it difficult to string sentences together when conversing with Minho, but he was otherwise quick-witted and good with words. “Well our crew was lucky that you were even in New York on the day of 3RACHA’s concert at all. Spearb has been a big fan for a few months now.” Jisung may have been helping Seungmin change the subject for Minho’s sake, but he tried to make his words sound as sincere as possible, because they were.

Seungmin looked surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah, he was showing the group your photos the other day. It was only when they found out you were in New York that they decided that it must be a sign that you were meant to replace our old photographer.”

Jisung wasn’t lying. He could tell by Seungmin’s face that he could tell, because the photographer looked like he was forcing down a blush only through sheer power of will.

For the next forty minutes, Jisung got to know Seungmin, and he got to know Minho when he was around Seungmin. He was glad that the dancer seemed just as real as he had on the plane and at the cafe the day before. He imagined hanging out with the two men in Seoul, getting to know Hyunjin, introducing them to Chan and Changbin.

Jisung held himself back from getting too excited, though. First things first; he had to break the news to Minho that Han Jisung and J.one of 3RACHA were one and the same.

* * *

**The day of the concert.**

Minho tried his best to stifle the butterflies threatening to tear his intestines out from the inside. He hadn’t been this nervous since his first ever audition at his very first dance studio. Of course, he’d nailed the audition, and that dance studio was now the same one he was currently employed at, so there’s that.

For some reason, though, he was finding himself almost overwhelmed with nerves as he approached the box office of the venue 3RACHA would be performing in in less than two hours. Seungmin and Hyunjin didn’t seem to share in his nervousness; they walked a couple steps in front of him, jostling each other teasingly with easy grins.

He knew Seungmin was excited to put his photography skills to the test, and Hyunjin was just ecstatic to have this opportunity at all to see his favorite musical group, but all Minho could think about was the supposed secret that Jisung would be telling him tonight.

He tried to put that out of his mind. It helped if he focused on the surprise Hyunjin was about to receive; the thought made him almost giddy with excitement. The last couple days had been a whirlwind for the older of his two best friends. First he’d been acknowledged by J.one via TikTok. Then his favorite member, Spearb, had done the same. Then said favorite member had gone so far as to offer them three tickets to their concert. 

What Hyunjin didn’t know was that it wasn’t just a promotional gimmick. The younger dancer had assumed that the tickets had been given out in an attempt to promote 3RACHA among both his and Minho’s audience, and the TikTok community in general, but Jisung had told Minho and Seungmin during lunch earlier that day that Hyunjin would actually be meeting the group.

Minho could only imagine the face on Hyunjin’s face when he realized they wouldn’t be picking up tickets from the box office. They would be meeting with a stage manager (courtesy of Jisung’s connections at JYP) who would lead them to none other than CB97 and Spearb themselves, who would be giving them a personal tour of the organized chaos that is backstage before a concert.

They arrived at said box office within a few minutes of walking; their hotel had been surprisingly close to the concert hall. Sure enough, Hyunjin was understandably confused when Seungmin and Minho led him not towards the line of fans waiting to pick up their will-call tickets, but towards the nondescript stagehand standing off to the side of the window, recognizable only by his all-black clothing and communication headset for keeping in touch with other employees.

Hyunjin’s eyes grew wider and wider as the stagehand led the way through an unremarkable door off to the side. They left the public area inhabited by countless fans milling about in their concert outfits as they waited for the doors to open and into the inner workings of the venue itself.

“Hyung,” Hyunjin whispered into Minho’s ear, grabbing onto his arm, perhaps trying to ground himself in the unfamiliar area, “What’s happening? Where are we going?”

Minho patted Hyunjin’s hands where they were wrapped around his arm with his free hand. “You’ll see,” he whispered back. “Just promise you won’t scream, okay?” Minho looked pointedly at Hyunjin, but Hyunjin was staring at something in front of them without enough force to burn holes into whatever had the misfortune of being his unlucky target.

Minho turned to look at what had so easily distracted his friend. There, walking towards the three friends and the stagehand, were CB97 and Spearb.

Minho had a split second to wonder who was who before Hyunjin’s knees buckled. Minho barely had time to support his friend’s weight, now reversing their roles as he grabbed the younger man’s arm.

In an instant, the two musicians were at Hyunjin's side, and the shorter one went to support Hyunjin’s other arm.

“Are you okay?” he asked, peering at Hyunjin in concern. Hyunjin just gaped back at him, mouth flapping open and closed uselessly as absolutely nothing resembling words came out.

“Oh my god Hyunjin, stand up. You look like a fish.”

Everyone’s heads (excluding the stagehand, who had hurried off to continue his work) snapped to look at Seungmin. The photographer held his camera bag to his chest, pretending he wasn’t flustered by the sudden attention.

Hyunjin did regain his feet. Then he closed the small distance between himself and Seungmin and smacked him on the shoulder. 

“Shut up,” he whined. “I want them to think I’m cool.”

Minho exchanged looks with the two members of 3RACHA, then the three of them burst out laughing, causing Hyunjin to pout.

“Don’t worry,” said the shorter of the two members. “Since you’re a better dancer than Chan-hyung, that makes you inherently cooler than him already.” 

_‘Okay,’_ thought Minho. _‘So the taller one is Chan….CB97?’_

The taller member ( _‘CB97,’_ Minho reminded himself) made an affronted noise and whacked the shorter member ( _‘Spearb,’_ guessed Minho) on the chest.

Then everyone was laughing again. 

“So you’re Hyunjin?” CB97 asked Hyunjin, obviously connecting the dots.

Hyunjin nodded. “I’m, uh. I’m a huge fan. Like, the biggest,” he said, still a bit wide-eyed, but now standing on his own and more calm. “I think you’re really talented writers and performers, and your music has really meant a lot to me.” CB97 grinned, and Minho could see how they had gained so many fans; their songs were good, and smiles like that were addictive.

Thinking of addictive smiles made Minho’s thoughts stray to Jisung. He tried to put the younger man out of his mind; he was most likely working right now. Minho would let Jisung find him on his own when he had free time so he wouldn’t interfere in the young producer’s work.

“Thanks,” said CB97. “We think you’re talented, too. Those dance moves,” and then CB97 made a gesture with his hands to indicate _‘nice’_ (his pointer finger and thumb together to form a circle, leaving his three remaining fingers out) that would’ve been cliche if it hadn’t made Hyunjin smile so proudly. 

“Thanks!” he said happily. “Oh!” Hyunjin seemed to realize he might be the only one who actually knew the names of everyone there. “This,” he said, pointing to Minho, “is Minho! He’s _LeeKnow98_ on TikTok; he’s the one who choreographed that short dance to Broken Compass that went viral on TikTok!”

Minho gave a small wave as both CB97 and Spearb looked at him. He didn’t understand why they were giving him such knowing looks, but he tried to ignore the feeling that they knew something he didn’t.

“And this,” said Hyunjin, now gesturing to Seungmin, “is Seungmin. He’s the photographer.” 

Seungmin gave a small wave with his camera bag; Minho knew he had been insanely happy that he had decided to bring his extra lenses on a whim, and he now had his various pieces and parts held in his bag slung over his shoulder.

Spearb made a noise in his throat that had everyone looking over at him. He waved everyone off with a small noise of embarrassment, gesturing for Hyunjin to continue. 

“And I’m Hyunjin!” he finished proudly.

“Known by everyone on TikTok as _spearbs_jinnie,_ ” Seungmin added with a smirk. Minho didn’t know it was possible for Hyunjin to turn so red. Spearb and CB97 just laughed quietly, understanding the friendly teasing for what it was. 

Then CB97 pretended to look sad, saying, “Ahh. That’s okay. No one ever biases the leader.” Then he went so far as to bury his face in his hands and feign tears.

Hyunjin looked stricken. He started waving his arms all over the place. 

“No no no! I love ALL of you! You’re all amazing and talented and cool and handsome….” he trailed off as everyone giggled at him. CB97 looked up from his hands, eyes dry, making it clear that he was only teasing.

Hyunjin, who had started to return to his normal color, was instantly red again.

“Oh my god, maybe I actually hate you,” Hyunjin pouted, crossing his arms. CB97 just laughed, then gestured for Hyunjin and the rest to follow him.

“C’mon, why don’t we get this tour started.” So the five of them started walking, entering deeper into the belly of the concert beast. CB97 introduced himself as Chan, and Spearb introduced himself as Changbin. Hyunjin asked about J.one, but the 3RACHA members only exchanged a mysterious look before telling them they wouldn’t get to meet him until right before the concert in a little over an hour.

Chan and Changbin were already decked out in their stage outfits and makeup, and they looked good. Minho was glad he already had someone he was interested in; he could only imagine the fuckery that would come with falling in love with an idol.

The five of them fell into easy conversation, dividing naturally into two groups. Minho found himself in the first group, consisting of him, Hyunjin, and Chan. Chan was leading them all around, making sure to keep them out of the way of the workers, while simultaneously explaining what everyone was doing and how it would contribute to the show later.

Minho had to admit that it was all insanely interesting; as a choreographer, he loved putting on a show, and seeing all the pieces that went into making one run smoothly was insanely cool.

He could tell that Hyunjin was on cloud nine; the young dancer was just as interested in the performance side as Minho, and he had the added bonus of being slightly obsessed with the actual group doing the performing. 

Minho could also admit that it was cool getting so up close and personal with the men who had made such a positive impact in his best friend’s life; he respected and enjoyed their music, but he was only now seeing the musicians behind it for the first time.

Meanwhile, Changbin was several paces behind them with Seungmin, discussing what exactly Seungmin would be doing during the concert with slightly hushed voices. Minho could tell the gist of it; Seungmin would have free reign to go wherever he pleased and take whatever photos he wanted. Changbin told him that they weren’t expecting to have a photographer, so there were no original expectations to be met; Seungmin could let his artistic vision run wild.

Minho strained his ears to listen when Seungmin asked, “So someone told me that you were the one who initially found my page?” 

“Who told you that?” Changbin asked, seeming slightly embarrassed, if the quick response was anything to go by.

“Jisung,” said Seungmin simply.

Changbin muttered under his breath a little, and Minho couldn’t decipher the words no matter how much he tried. The sentiment was clear though; Changbin would be having words with Jisung later. 

Minho figured himself to be a pretty smart guy. He could recognize the self-conscious distress of a little crush anywhere. So Changbin had a thing for Seungmin, huh? Usually, he’d disapprove of being attracted to someone solely because of what they put online, but he knew Seungmin was genuine, and Jisung knew Changbin, and hadn’t Jisung originally been his fan on TikTok before all of this started?

So Minho just kept his mouth shut and listened even harder as Changbin said, “I mean, yeah. He’s right. I’ve been following your account for a few weeks now; I and the guys think you’re really talented.”

Then Changbin glances towards the group in the front. Minho hadn’t realized he’d turned slightly to watch them as he walked in front; he turned abruptly back to face forwards, pretending to listen to what Chan was saying.

It was too late; Changbin noticed his snooping and slowed down to create more distance between him and Seungmin and the rest of the group. Minho was only able to make out one last, “You know Jisung?” and see Seungmin nodding before he was unable to hear the rest of their conversation.

As the tour continued, Seungmin and Changbin eventually sped up to join together with the rest of the group. Chan and Hyunjin seemed oblivious that they had ever separated at all; Hyunjin pestered Chan with questions about their creative process and choreo and Chan seemed content to answer and ask questions of his own.

Minho almost thought he caught Seungmin and Changbin looking at him almost conspiratorially, but he dismissed the thought when nobody else seemed to notice. Besides, what could those two, who only met a little under an hour ago, possibly know that Minho didn’t?

So he shrugged off the feeling that Seungmin and Changbin were shooting him sneaky glances, and focused once again on Chan and Hyunjin’s conversation.

“So who do you go to when you want choreography for one of your dances?” 

Chan shrugged. “JYP mostly takes care of it. The company usually hires one of the local dance companies to listen to the song and choreograph according to the vibe we want.”

Minho understood what he meant; his own dance company did work for music companies all of the time. In fact, his company had probably been hired by JYP for their idol groups on several occasions.

“We really enjoyed the choreo you came up with Minho,” Chan continued, now looking at said choreographer. “We discussed it, and we’d actually love it if you would be willing to come up with a dance for the whole song, not just the twenty second clip we released on TikTok.” 

Chan spoke so matter-of-factly that it took Minho a second to comprehend what he had even said. Hyunjin seemed to come to his senses first.

“Oh my god, that would be amazing! Minho-hyung would come up with the most amazing dance! And then he’d be recognized for his talents and maybe his company would give him a raise and then-”

Minho interjected before Hyunjin could start planning out Minho’s whole future, ending with his marriage and future children.

“Hyunjin, I love you, but shut up.”

Hyunjin smiled sheepishly, even going so far as to mime zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. Like that would ever last longer than five seconds.

Minho then turned to Chan, saying, “But I would absolutely love to. I enjoy a lot of your songs, but this new single is one of my favorites.”

Chan grinned. “Awesome.” Then he turned to Seungmin. “And I know Changbin already ran through what’s expected of you tonight. Don’t be worried about producing what you think we want, just go wild. The pay will be the same either way, and we’d like to see what you’re capable of.”

Seungmin’s face took on a determined set; he was always one to exceed expectations, no matter the challenge.

“And,” said Changbin, interjecting excitedly, “if the group digs what you come up with, the managers agreed to pay you to do the rest of the stops on the tour!” His face had lit up in a way that was so cute and genuine that Minho almost felt bad for him when Chan immediately smacked him lightly.

“Oh,” he said, rubbing his arm. “I don’t think we were supposed to tell you that yet.” Changbin just smiled innocently at Seungmin as the photographer gaped at him. Then it was Changbin’s turn to gape when Seungmin swept him up into a rather tight hug.

“Thank you! I won’t disappoint you!” Seungmin smiled happily at Changbin. Minho knew he was probably so caught up in thinking about telling his parents about his accomplishments that he didn’t notice Changbin turn a rather unflattering shade of red at the contact.

Then the moment was over and the tour continued on its way. Minho was amazed at how fast time was passing; they’d already spent around an hour and a half with the two members of 3RACHA, meaning there was less than half an hour until the concert started. Unfortunately, they had even less time before Minho and Hyunjin would need to go to their seats and Seungmin would need to start looking for good places to camp out to capture the best angles during the show.

Hyunjin was starting to look a little down at their inevitable split. Chan, Minho had learned, was the epitome of the observant leader trope. Noticing the dancer’s change in emotion, he said, “So I guess we’re wrapping up, huh?”

Hyunjin nodded dejectedly.

“Well, I guess we should all exchange phone numbers before we forget.”

Minho had never seen Hyunjin’s mood change so quickly. One second, he was looking down at the floor like a kicked puppy, then he was beaming like he was the sun and it was his job to provide sunlight for the entire universe. So they all exchanged phone numbers, agreeing to meet up after the concert and discuss what would happen next with Seungmin’s photography gig, and maybe what would happen when they all returned to Seoul as new friends.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly for his two friends. Minho couldn’t have been happier for them, but he was also just the tiniest bit jealous. He wanted to share this moment with Jisung. He was disappointed, but not surprised, that he hadn’t run into the other sometime during the tour. He must’ve been really busy.

So Minho just smiled, and tried to focus on his best friends and his new friends.

It worked for about two seconds, until someone shouted, “OKAY PEOPLE! WE NEED CB97, SPEARB, AND J.ONE STAGE LEFT ASAP.”

Chan and Changbin started walking towards their mark. Minho thought for sure this was where their groups would part; after all, that’s what he’d been told by Jisung yesterday. However, Chan indicated for them to keep following them. Minho was surprised, but did as he was told.

Soon enough, the five of them were standing just behind the screen that separated the audience from the musicians on stage. Minho could hear the screams of the fans as they watched photos of 3RACHA flash across the screen to the beat of the music playing over the speakers. Now that he was aware of it, he couldn’t block out the almost overwhelming sound all around them. 

He found it exhilarating. This just reinforced it for Minho that this was what he wanted. He wanted to perform in front of an audience, have fans screaming to see his choreography. He felt so grateful in that moment to have a job that allowed him to follow his dream so completely.

Minho was so distracted by the sound of the crowd that he didn’t even see J.one until he was right next to them. He didn’t look right at the rapper at first; he was more interested in the sounds of the crowd. He just glanced over, taking in the matching stage outfit them of black leather and blue highlights.

Minho heard Hyunjin say something along the lines of, “Oh my gosh, you’re J.one, I literally love you. Thank you so much for wishing me a happy birthday, now I can die happy, will you please sign my forehead?” but he honestly wasn’t listening that closely.

His attention _was_ caught, however, when he heard Changbin say, “Wassup Jisung?”

Minho’s head whipped around, trying to catch sight of the producer. He pouted when he didn’t see his cute blond hair right away, only his best friends and the three members of 3RACHA, and why was the newest arrival looking at him like-

Holy shit.

The blond hair might’ve been styled instead of hidden beneath a bucket hat, and the leather might’ve been different from yesterday’s sweater, but he’d recognize that boyish grin anywhere.

“Jisung?”

Minho was frozen. For the second time since meeting 3RACHA, Hyunjin surprised everyone by being the first one to remember how words worked.

“This is your Jisung?!” he screeched. Normally, the volume would’ve made Minho wince, but seeing as the volume backstage was already astronomical, his words came across at just the right degree of loudness for only the six of them to hear.

“Your Jisung?” Jisung said, smirking a bit. Minho probably would’ve been embarrassed if he hadn’t spotted the blush under Jisung’s light layer of foundation. 

“You’re in 3RACHA? You’re J.one?” he asked, instead of answering. “I thought-” and then the gears clicked into place. A producer at JYP, working the 3RACHA concert tonight. Young, handsome, talented. Of fucking course. How stupid could Minho have been?

Minho didn’t have time to beat himself up for too long, because Jisung said, “Yeah, I am. Are you- do you- that’s okay right?”

The stuttering was enough to remind Minho that this was still Jisung. His Jisung. He may look sexy right now instead of cute, but this way still the same boy who had become flustered when they’d met on the plane, had held his hand when they ran through the park, had helped his friends achieve their dreams.

Oh. Duh. No wonder a simple producer had had such pull within the company. Hiring a photographer and scoring a few extra tickets would be nothing for someone who was a part of the actual group itself.

But he didn’t have time to start overthinking again, because J.one- _Jisung_ was looking at him like he might cry if Minho said it wasn’t okay. 

Which was ridiculous, because, “Jisung, of course. Of course it’s okay, what the fuck? This is who you are, I just, I didn’t realize until literally right now. But I think you’re amazing.” Minho gazed into Jisung’s eyes. The eyeliner made them more intense than usual, but they were the same eyes that had looked at him so wide-eyed on the plane just yesterday. 

“And this doesn’t change anything for me,” he continued, “as long as it doesn’t change anything for you.” Now it was Minho’s turn to be vulnerable. What would Jisung say? Minho had almost forgotten they were standing in front of both of their respective best friends. Would Jisung break his heart where everyone could see?

“No,” replied Jisung, grinning his signature grin. “Nothing’s changed for me either.”

They just stood there for a few more seconds, relishing in the moment, when they were rudely interrupted by the sounds of fake gagging. They looked over to see not one, but two of their friends pretending to be disgusted by their perfectly normal display of affection.

Seungmin and Changbin both seemed surprised to not be the only one sticking their tongue out in fake disgust. Then everyone was laughing, even Minho and Jisung.

Seungmin rolled his eyes. “Fucking finally. You guys might only have met yesterday, but that still took way too long.”

Minho narrowed his eyes at the photographer. “Did you- did you know? Did you know and not fucking tell me? What the fuck?”

Seungmin just shrugged. “It’s not my fault you’re just dumb.” Then he grinned. “Also, I really wanted to see the look on your face when you finally connected the dots. Gonna be honest, it was a lot more soft than I would’ve expected.”

Hyunjin chose that moment to interject. “Wait, I had absolutely no idea? Who knew? You?” he said, pointing at Seungmin. “You guys?” he said, pointing at Chan and Changbin, who didn’t even have the decency to look a bit embarrassed, as opposed to Seungmin, who looked unabashed.

“I’m sorry, Minho-hyung,” said Jisung. “I just thought we hit it off so well on the plane, and then I kind of got caught up in the moment and didn’t want to tell you right away.” Jisung took a deep breath, taking a step closer to Minho and reaching for his hands slowly, as if giving him time to pull away. Minho didn’t. “But I knew I had to tell you myself, because I didn’t want someone to do it for me.”

Minho looked down at their joined hands, then back up at the boy he had grown so fond of in such a short time. “You know, you’re lucky you’re about to go on stage, otherwise I would punch you for making me feel like a dumbass.”

Jisung smirked.

“Are you sure you’re not punching me because I’m too sexy right now? Little different from the me you saw yesterday, huh?”

At that, Minho freed one of his hands and punched Jisung lightly on the shoulder. The rapper feigned hurt, but couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “Whatever. Just. Go out there and kill it, okay? Maybe dance my dance?”

Minho could tell they were smiling sappily at each other again because he heard more fake gags from behind him. He rolled his eyes, while Jisung just giggled.

“Of course,” he said, squeezing Minho’s hands one last time before he went to stand by Chan and Changbin. “See you after the concert?”

Minho nodded. He was starting to think Hyunjin and he might never get to their actual seats. The three of them watched as 3RACHA took their places on the stage, letting their stage personas take over as the video screen rose and revealed them to the screaming fans. From their spot at the side of the stage, Minho, Hyunjin, and Seungmin had an amazing view of the trios’ amazing performance skills and teamwork.

They were about halfway through their first song, riling the audience up with their skilled rapping and body rolls before any of them spoke.

“What the fuck,” said Minho. Despite his words being a question in theory, he said them as simply as one would say _‘the sky is blue.’_

Hyunjin and Seungmin just nodded. Only yesterday they had been on a plane to a simple TikTok convention. Now they were backstage at a 3RACHA show and Minho was on the cusp of dating one of the members, whom he had just met less than forty-eight hours ago. What the fuck, indeed.

Instead of answering Minho, Seungmin simply said, “So, I’m definitely gay.” His eyes never strayed from where Changbin was spitting fire and absolutely dominating the stage.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, was attempting to watch everything on the stage at once, his hungry eyes attempting to soak up the sight like he’d never see it again. “They’re amazing,” he agreed. “It makes me wish I was gay.”

“That’s okay,” said Minho, eyes glued to Jisung, who was bouncing around the stage in the weirdest mix of sexy and cute and intense he had ever had the pleasure of witnessing. “I’ll be gay enough for the both of us.”

At one point, Jisung looked over towards the side of the stage where the three of them were standing and made eye contact with Minho. He grinned, unable to contain his unbridled joy at doing what he loved with his best friends in front of his new friends. He smiled like a child successfully riding his bike for the first time, like a woman being proposed to by the love of her life, like a man seeing his lover after too many hours spent apart. 

He smiled like sunshine, and Minho couldn’t help but smile back. In that moment, as he thought about the past and the present and the future, and he knew; he would do anything to keep seeing Jisung smile just like that forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first ever attempt at fanfiction ever! I never thought I'd publish anything on ao3, but here we are. This fic is literally just me projecting my love for TikTok on Stray Kids, because of course I want to associate the two loves of my life with each other. Also, the amount of point of view switches I utilize here is definitely a testament to how crazy I've become during quarantine, since I'm generally not a huge fan of them. It iz wut it iz. Sorry for any typos, this thing ended up being over 20,000 words long? I was not about to reread that, so sorry for any errors! 
> 
> As a person who thinks slow burn>>> literally anything, I hope someone out there is willing to give this faster than the speed of light romance fic a chance :P
> 
> EDIT: reread this for literally the first time and found so many mistakes even though I was just skimming 🙃. I fixed the ones I saw, but there are definitely more, oops 😬


End file.
